Is the Attorney General’s office required to provide congress and/or the public with a report on Patrick Fitzgerald’s investigation into the CIA leak case? Greg Sargent at The American Prospect makes a convincing case for just that.
The controversy swirls around a set of regulations that former AG Janet Reno added to the Code of Federal regulations in 1999: 28 CFR 600 – General Powers of Special Counsel and the fact that deputy AG Comey (AG Gonzales recused himself from the case at the time), who directed the terms of Fitzgerald’s authority in his 2003 letter, stated: “Further, my conferral on you of the title of “Special Counsel” in this matter should not be misunderstood to suggest that your position and authorities are defined and limited by 28 CFR Part 600.”
Sargent raises two important questions in his article. First of all, “does the attorney general’s office have the authority to unilaterally exempt the special counsel from federal regulations?” The second, “Does the attorney general’s office have to follow them?” is the gist of Sargent’s article. He posits that, if the AG’s office is bound by the regulations, not only is it required to receive regular briefings on the investigation, it must also “give “notification and reports” on the probe to Congress at various points in the investigation, including its conclusion.” Sargent quotes Section 600.9:
The discussion section of 600.9 states that they [the reports] are supposed to be “brief,” but — and this is important — are also meant to reassure the public that the probe is sound: “to help ensure congressional and public confidence in the integrity of the process, the regulations impose on the Attorney General these reporting requirements to the Judiciary Committee of the Congress.”
What’s more, the rules say: “The Attorney General may determine that public release of these reports would be in the public interest, to the extent that release would comply with applicable legal restrictions.”
Sargent concludes:
If Fitzgerald isn’t beholden to Reno’s regulations, what rules are governing his investigation? If the AG doesn’t report to Congress — and the vast majority of the investigation’s findings remain secret — how will the public be reassured that Fitzgerald’s probe into the conduct of our most powerful public officials accomplished justice? Even if Comey has successfully exempted Fitzgerald — and the attorney general’s office — from the regulations, why did he do it in the first place, and was he trying to prevent the public from learning about the probe? Can it be reversed?
These are questions that Democrats and everyone with an interest in the Plame affair need to be asking.