Washington — The Justice Department told House Republicans there would be strict parameters limiting its ability to fully cooperate with congressional probes into the department's work.
In a letter Friday to the new House Judiciary Committee chairman, Rep. Jim Jordan, the department cited the need to safeguard ongoing investigations.
"Consistent with longstanding policy and practice, any oversight requests must be weighed against the Department's interests in protecting the integrity of its work," Assistant Attorney General Carlos Uriarte wrote. "Longstanding Department policy prevents us from confirming or denying the existence of pending investigations in response to congressional requests or providing non-public information about our investigations."
The correspondence — the department's first since Republicans took control of the House — was in response to a series of Jan. 17 letters from Jordan renewing requests for information and documents related to Justice Department policies that have come under scrutiny by Republican congressional leaders during the prior Congress.
Referencing a longstanding policy "to decline to provide committees of Congress with access to, or copies of, open law enforcement files except in extraordinary circumstances," the department signaled to House Republicans that there will be boundaries to prevent any interference in ongoing investigations.
"We believe that good-faith negotiations will enable us to meet the Committee's needs while...
Washington, April 27 Prominent television hosts and journalists have pushed back against online claims that the White House ... Washington, April 27 Prominent television hosts and journalists have ...