Opinions

Federal Register Act—Date of “Promulgation” of Law Enforcement Assistance Administration Regulations

Conflict of Interest—Propriety of Appearance of a Former Justice Department Attorney in a Condemnation Case

Conflict of Interest—Propriety of Using a Leased Airplane for Personal and Official Purposes

Conflict of Interest—Litigation Involving a Corporation Owned by Government Attorney

Conflict of Interest—Former United States Attorney

Legality of a Certain Proposed Composition of a Multiemployer Pension Fund Board of Trustees

The White House Office—Acceptance of Voluntary Service (31 U.S.C. § 665(b))

Hatch Act (5 U.S.C. § 7324)—Membership of White House Staff Member on Democratic National Committee

Presidential Transition Act (3 U.S.C. § 102 note)—Provision of Military Aircraft and Hospital Corpsman to a Former President (31 U.S.C. § 638)

Although there is no constitutional impediment to the bill’s requirement that independent regulatory agencies communicate their legislative and budgetary messages directly to the Congress without first clearing them with OMB, a uniform rule in the opposite extreme—i.e., that no communication from an independent agency may be sent to OMB unless it is simultaneously sent to the Congress—would not adequately protect important interests of the Executive Branch. The congressional access provisions of the bill would not affect the power of the President, or the agency acting on the President’s behalf, to assert executive privilege, because in the absence of express language in the bill, it must be assumed that the bill does not constitute an attempted infringement of the constitutionally based privilege, which is available with respect to those functions of independent regulatory agencies that are of an executive or quasi-executive nature.