Walls Breaking Down Between WH and DOJ, Hearings Reveal
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales’ appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee last week highlighted a policy shift in his administration that gave White House officials increased access to the Justice Department, according to an analysis in Legal Times.
Former Attorney General Janet Reno had issued a memo in 1994 that limited initial communications about pending investigations or cases to herself and her top two deputies. The memo put in writing what was already the tradition, the story says.
But Gonzales issued a memo in 2002 permitting discussions with the attorney general, deputy attorney general and their staff members–30 people in all. And it permitted more than 100 White House officials to have such contacts with DOJ, the legal newspaper says.
