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Selected Opinions of the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC)
Department of Justice

OLC Views the Office of the Vice President, and Related Matters

Eligibility of the President for Civil Service Retirement Benefits, J. Lee Rankin, January 19, 1955

Participation by the Vice President in the Affairs of the Executive Branch, Nicholas deB. Katzenbach, March 9, 1961

Constitutionality of the Vice President's Service as Chairman of the National Aeronautics and Space Council, Nicholas deB. Katzenbach, April 18, 1961

Delegation of Presidential Powers to the Vice President, Nicholas deB. Katzenbach, June 22, 1961

On the Status of Vice Presidential Employees for Tax Purposes, Harold F. Reis, July 24, 1962

Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations, William H. Rehnquist, February 7, 1969

Amenability of the President, Vice President and other Civil Officers to Federal Criminal Prosecution while in Office, Robert G. Dixon, Jr., September 24, 1973

Draft Standards of Conduct for the Office of the Vice President, Robert G. Dixon, Jr., June 13, 1974

Whether Governor Rockefeller, if appointed as Vice President, is required to execute a blind trust in order to avoid possible violation of 18 U.S.C. 208, Robert G. Dixon, Jr., August 20, 1974

Conflict of Interest Problems Arising Out of the President's Nomination of Nelson A. Rockefeller to be Vice President under the Twenty-Fifth Amendment to the Constitution, Laurence H. Silberman, August 28, 1974

More on Conflict of Interest Law and the Nomination of Nelson A. Rockefeller to be Vice President, Laurence H. Silberman, September 20, 1974

Applicability of 3 C.F.R. Part 100 to the President and Vice President, Antonin Scalia, December 16, 1974

Application of the Hatch Act to the Vice President's Staff, John M. Harmon, April 6, 1977

President's Authority to Delegate Functions, January 24, 1980

Payment of Expenses Associated with Travel by the President and Vice President, Theodore B. Olson, March 24, 1982

Whether the Office of the Vice President is an "Agency" for Purposes of the Freedom of Information Act, Walter Dellinger, February 14, 1994

Whether the Office of the Vice President is an "Agency" for Purposes of Executive Order 12958, as amended, Steven G. Bradbury, July 20, 2007

Military Interrogation of Alien Unlawful Combatants Held Outside the United States, Office of Legal Counsel, March 14, 2003

Application of Federal Advisory Committee Act to Non-Governmental Consultations, Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel, December 7, 2001

ISCAP Jurisdiction Over Classification Decisions by the Director of Central Intelligence Regarding Intelligence Sources and Methods, Randolph D. Moss, October 5, 1999

Presidential Authority to Decline to Execute Unconstitutional Statutes, Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel, November 2, 1994

Status of the Director of Central Intelligence Under the National Security Intelligence Reform Act of 2004, Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel, January 12, 2005 (published January 23, 2006)

The President's Constitutional Authority to Conduct Military Operations Against Terrorists and Nations Supporting Them, Office of Legal Counsel opinion, September 25, 2001

Sources and Resources

• Office of Legal Counsel, official web site

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