Number: RL34197
Title: Congressional Investigations of the Department of Justice, 1920-2007: History, Law, and Practice
Authors: Morton Rosenberg, American Law Division 
Abstract: This report examines the legal basis for investigative oversight, followed by several prominent examples of congressional oversight that reflect significant milestones in the establishment of the breadth and reach of the legislative investigative prerogative vis-a-vis the Department. Next ot reviews and assesses the Department's contentions, based on policy and common law and constitutional privilege, that it has asserted to attempt to limit congressional access to agency information. An appendix to this report provides summaries of 18 inquiries in which committees have successfully obtained documents and testimony respecting the internal deliberative processes involving open and closed civil and criminal cases, as well as programmatic matters that are part of the Department's statutory mission.
Pages: 60
Date: August 20, 2008