§ 7.71 - Intragovernmental exchanges.

(a) Any record prepared by a Government officer or employee (including those prepared by a consultant or advisory body) for internal Government use is within the statutory exemption to the extent it contains:

(1) Opinions, advice, deliberations, or recommendations made in the course of developing official action by the Government, but not actually made a part of that official action.

(2) Confidential communications between a Government attorney or an attorney acting on behalf of the Government and his or her client relating to a legal matter for which the client has sought professional advice.

(3) Information prepared by a Government attorney or an attorney acting on behalf of the Government in anticipation of litigation.

(4) Confidential commercial information generated by the Government where disclosure of such information would prejudice the Government's bargaining position in commercial transactions.

Examples of records covered by this section include staff memoranda containing advice, opinions, recommendations, suggestions, or exchanges of views, preliminary to final agency decision or action, with the exception of factual information, unless such information is inextricably intertwined with deliberative material; draft documents such as draft versions of audit reports prepared by the Office of Inspector General; appraisals of property to be condemned by the Government; legal opinions and/or advice rendered by a Government attorney or an attorney acting on behalf of the Government and based on information communicated in confidence by the client; memoranda and other documents prepared by a Government attorney or an attorney acting on behalf of the Government setting forth strategy with regard to pending or probable future litigation and not otherwise made a matter of public record in a particular legal proceeding; and material intended for public release at a specified future time, if premature disclosure would be detrimental to orderly decisionmaking by the Department.

(b) The purpose of this section is to protect internal records that are not routinely available by law to another party in litigation with the Government.