[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 52 (Friday, March 17, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14481-14482]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-6639]
[[Page 14481]]
DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
[Treasury Order 107-05]
Communications With the White House Regarding Open
Investigations, Adjudications or Civil and Criminal Enforcement Actions
Dated: March 2, 1995.
By virtue of my authority as Secretary of the Treasury, including
the authority contained in 31 U.S.C. 321(b) and 5 U.S.C. 301 and 302, I
hereby issue the following procedures for communications between the
Department of the Treasury and the White House regarding open
Department investigations, adjudications or civil or criminal
enforcement actions.
1. General Procedures
a. General Policy. In order to ensure the President's ability to
perform his constitutional obligation to ``take care that the laws be
faithfully executed,'' it is the policy of the Treasury Department to
provide the White House with information on open investigations,
adjudications, or civil (including administrative or regulatory) or
criminal enforcement actions pending before or within any regulatory or
law enforcement agency within the Department, where important for the
performance of the President's duties, where appropriate from a law
enforcement and regulatory perspective and where consistent with these
procedures.
b. Referral Procedures. The below listed procedures are established
to ensure the flow of appropriate information between the Department
and the White House. Central to these procedures is the need for
consultation with Department senior policy officials,1 including
the General Counsel. The General Counsel is authorized to issue more
detailed guidance should he or she determine it to be necessary.
\1\Department senior policy officials shall include those
Treasury officials at the Assistant Secretary level and above as set
forth in Treasury Order 101-05 and the organization chart attached
thereto.
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OPI: AGC (Enforcement)
(1) Action to be Taken by Department Employees/Senior Policy
Officials. If a Department employee determines that a matter involving
an open investigation, adjudication, or enforcement action under his or
her jurisdiction should be communicated to the White House, he or she
shall inform, through the appropriate Department senior policy
official, the General Counsel about this matter.
(2) Action to be Taken by Treasury Bureau Employees/Bureau Heads.
If an employee of a Treasury law enforcement or financial regulatory
bureau or the Office of Foreign Assets Control (``Treasury Bureau'')
believes that a matter involving an open investigation, adjudication or
enforcement action under his or her jurisdiction should be communicated
to the White House, he or she shall contact, through the Treasury
Bureau head, the Department senior policy official to whom that
Treasury Bureau head directly reports. If the senior policy official
concurs with that recommendation, he or she shall then inform the
General Counsel about this matter.
(3) General Counsel Review and Final Determination. The General
Counsel shall provide the Department senior policy official with his or
her recommendation concerning the advisability of disclosing the
information to the White House. The General Counsel is authorized to
preclude transmittal of the information on legal or ethical grounds. If
the General Counsel believes that disclosure should not be made based
on other than legal or ethical grounds, the General Counsel shall
inform the appropriate senior policy official of this recommendation.
(4) Other Final Determinations. Unless precluded on legal or
ethical grounds by the General Counsel, the Department senior policy
official referred to in paragraph 1.b.(1) or 1.b.(2) shall make the
final determination on whether the information should be communicated
to the White House. If the Department senior policy official determines
that such information should be communicated to the White House, he or
she shall request the General Counsel to make the initial
communication.
c. Communications.
(1) Initial Contact with White House. Initial communications
between the White House and the Treasury Department regarding any
pending Department investigation, adjudication or criminal or civil
enforcement action shall involve only the Counsel to the President or
the Deputy Counsel and the General Counsel or the Deputy General
Counsel. No Treasury or bureau employee shall initiate communications
on these matters with the White House other than as provided in
paragraph 1.c. Any Treasury or bureau employee in possession of
information pertaining to any pending criminal referrals and criminal
investigations shall keep the information in strict confidence and
shall not disclose the information to any person except in accordance
with applicable law, Treasury standards and this Order.
(2) Continuing Contact. After the initial contact, further contact
on a matter deemed appropriate for communications pursuant to this
Order shall be directed to the White House Counsel's Office by the
General Counsel, the Deputy General Counsel or the appropriate senior
policy official designated by the General Counsel or any other lawyer
in the Office of the General Counsel, as designated by the General
Counsel.
d. Writing Requirements. All proposals and decisions involving open
Department investigations, adjudications or enforcement actions
discussed herein that either propose or result in communications with
the White House shall be detailed in contemporaneous, written
memoranda.
(1) Treasury Bureau Heads and Department Senior Policy Officials.
All requests from Treasury Bureau Heads to Department senior policy
officials and from Department senior policy officials to the General
Counsel requesting a communication to the White House concerning an
open investigation, adjudication or enforcement action shall be in
writing. Such memoranda shall explain why the communication of
information is important for the performance of the President's duties
and appropriate from a law enforcement perspective.
(2) General Counsel. The General Counsel shall also issue in
writing his or her legal or ethical recommendation to the appropriate
Department senior policy official in response to such request for
communication with the White House.
(3) Emergency Situations. If an emergency situation is present, the
memoranda requested by paragraph 1.d. may be prepared as soon as
practicable thereafter.
e. Information Requests by the White House. Requests by the White
House for information concerning open Department investigations,
adjudications or civil or criminal enforcement actions shall be
referred in all cases to the General Counsel. The General Counsel shall
ensure that such requests are processed consistent with the provisions
of this Order and any applicable White House guidance.
2. Open Investigations, Adjudications or Enforcement Actions Directly
Involving the White House
a. Contacts Directly Involving the White House. If the President,
the Vice-President, a member of their families, a senior advisor or an
employee of an office which the Chief of Staff (or any similar
successor position) directly supervises, is an actual or potential
[[Page 14482]] subject, target or witness of an open investigation,
adjudication or enforcement action under the jurisdiction of the
Treasury Bureaus, the determination of whether it is appropriate to
disclose this information to the White House shall be made in
accordance with this Order taking into consideration, among other
things, the following:
(1) whether disclosure would detrimentally affect the fundamental
operation of an agency or other organization in the executive branch of
the federal government;
(2) whether disclosure of the information would promote or reduce
the public confidence and trust in the integrity of elected officials
and public servants or the Department's regulatory and law enforcement
activities;
(3) whether there exists an immediate threat of harm or injury to
White House persons or property which disclosure will help to avoid;
(4) whether the matter involves any sensitive or urgent national
security or foreign policy concern that should be brought to the White
House's attention;
(5) whether disclosure of the information would interfere or assist
with the Department's law enforcement and regulatory mission or an
ongoing law enforcement or regulatory activity; and
(6) whether non-disclosure could cause the White House to convey
inaccurate or misleading information to the public.
b. Secretary/Deputy Secretary Consultation. The Deputy Secretary
shall be informed prior to any Department communications with the White
House involving the matters subject to paragraph 2. The Deputy
Secretary, in turn, may consult with the Secretary. The Secretary or
Deputy Secretary may consult with the Attorney General or any other
appropriate senior government official concerning the advisability of
such disclosure or non-disclosure.
c. Procedures. Subject to the procedures specified in paragraph 2.,
the procedures described in paragraph 1. herein shall apply to the
communications described in paragraph 2.
3. SCOPE. In the day-to-day functioning of the Department, there
exist activities necessary to carry out the Department's law
enforcement and regulatory mission. These may include routine law
enforcement contacts, including administrative and regulatory contacts,
designed to collect information through document requests, interviews,
depositions or otherwise. Nothing in this Order shall be construed to
amend the Department's current approach with respect to its handling of
these routine activities.
In addition, the procedures set forth in this Order do not apply to
the following circumstances.
a. Any communication subject to a specific statutory provision
prohibiting or governing the disclosure of the information. (See, e.g.,
12 U.S.C. 1462a(b)(3) and 26 U.S.C. 6103.)
b. Communications between the Secret Service and the White House
concerning the Service's protective responsibilities.
c. Communications between a Treasury Bureau and the National
Security Council concerning open investigations or cases, if such
disclosure is necessary for the conduct, determination or coordination
of national security or foreign policy issues.
d. Communications between the Department and the White House
appropriate to properly respond to inquiries or requests for
information or documents in the form of (i) civil and criminal
discovery requests; (ii) subpoenas, including but not limited to, grand
jury and congressional; (iii) other congressional requests for
documents and information; and (iv) any other requests for information
and documents authorized by law; provided that the exception created by
paragraph 3.d. shall not apply to requests for information pertaining
to those officials and individuals identified in paragraph 2. who are
the subject, target or witness in an open investigation, adjudication
or enforcement action.
e. Communications between the Department and the White House
appropriate to formulate an Administration position with respect to
judicial review or settlement of pending litigation.
f. Tax, security and background checks on prospective Federal
employees and appointees, including Executive and Judicial Branch
appointments under consideration by the President or the Department.
g. Communications between the Inspector General or his or her
authorized officials and the White House in furtherance of the duties
and responsibilities of the Inspector General undertaken pursuant to
the Inspector General Act of 1978, 5 U.S.C.A. App. 3.
Robert E. Rubin,
Secretary of the Treasury.
[FR Doc. 95-6639 Filed 3-16-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-25-P
