U.S. Department of Jus e Office of Legislative Affairs Office of the Assistant Attorney General Washington, D.C. 20530 APR 3.9 2018 The Honorable Mark Meadows U.S. House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515 ‘The Honorable Jim Jordan U.S. House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515 Dear Congressman Meadows and Congressman Jordan This responds to your letter to the Deputy Attorney General dated April 9, 2018, requesting access to an August 2, 2017 memorandum sent to Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III pertaining to his authority. In a court filing, the Special Counsel submitted a heavily redacted form of that memorandum in response to a motion to dismiss the indictment in United States v. Paul J. Manafort, Ji, No. 17-ct-201-1 (ABJ) (D.D.C.). That filing prompted your request On May 17, 2017, the Deputy Attorney General appointed the Special Counsel and. issued a one-page appointment order. Consistent with longstanding Department of Justice (Department) policy, the appointment order did not identify specific investigations involving, specific individuals, In the confidential August 2 memorandum, the Deputy Attorney General described allegations that fell within the scope of the Special Counsel’s investigation. As you know, that investigation is ongoing. The filed memorandum contained redactions to avoid disclosing internal communications between the Special Counsel and Deputy Attorney General about active criminal investigations, to protect classified information, and to comply with the longstanding general policy of the Department against confirming or denying information about active investigations. ‘The Department recognizes the keen interest that Congress has in the Special Counsel's investigation, but, respectfully, we must adhere to the longstanding position of the Department that Congressional inquiries pertaining to ongoing criminal investigations threaten the integrity of those investigations, Although we are working to accommodate the requests of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee in a number of oversight matters, we cannot provide the requested information pertaining to the Special Counsel’s ongoing investigation consistent with longstanding principles of investigatory independence.The Honorable Mark Meadows ‘The Honorable Jim Jordan Page Two We apply these principles to any request for information pertaining to ongoing investigations of American citizens. We hope you can respect our position. Please do not hesitate to contact this office if we may provide additional assistance regarding this or any other matter. “Assistant Attorney GeneralThe Honorable Jim Jordan U.S. House of Representatives 2056 Raybum House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 Phone: 202-225-2676 JH [514-9003