Opinion | Office of Legal Counsel at DOJ should be more transparent

Either the executive branch should hold itself to account, or lawmakers should step in. A bill introduced in the 116th Congress would have codified transparency in OLC opinions unless they were classified or had classified information in them, in which case whatever portion was possible should still be released. That determination would be made by the attorney general or a designee, in writing. Other internal reforms could ensure decisions are rigorous rather than reflexive. One idea is to introduce dissenting opinions by OLC staff, giving them power to challenge and, ideally, refine internal decision-making, similar to the military’s use of “red teams”; another is to require that the office independently verify whatever facts form the basis for a presidential request for an OLC decision.