3-18.000
GENERAL
ACCOUNTING
OFFICE
AUDITS/REPORTING
REQUIREMENTS/USAO
SURVEYS/URGENT
REPORTS
3-18.100 United States
Attorneys' Offices
Surveys
3-18.110 General Accounting
Office --
Authority for Audits
3-18.120 Procedures
Regarding GAO Contacts
3-18.200 Urgent Reports --
Litigation --
Pending and New
3-18.220 Urgent Reports --
Notice of
Interviews of Subjects
of Investigations
3-18.230 Urgent Reports on
Other Matters
3-18.231 Format for Urgent
Reports
All surveys, questionnaires, requests for information, or
visits from one or
more United States Attorneys' Offices (USAOs) by Department of
Justice offices,
boards, divisions, field offices, bureaus, or United States
Attorneys; or by
other persons or organizations outside the Department, including
the private
sector; other U.S. Government offices; Members of Congress or
Committees; or the
General Accounting Office (GAO) should be submitted to the
Executive Office for
United States Attorneys (EOUSA) for coordination to conserve the
resources and
time of USAOs personnel, to prevent unnecessary duplication of
research and
survey efforts, and to ensure that alternate sources of data are
utilized when
available. Congressional requests shall continue to be submitted
by Congress to
the Office of Legislative Affairs, who shall then submit the
request directly to
EOUSA. GAO requests should go through the Counsel to the
Director, EOUSA. All
non GAO surveys, questionnaires, requests for i
nformation should be submitted to Donna Enos, Office of the
Director, EOUSA, for
coordination. Please contact the Counsel to the Director, EOUSA,
for assistance.
The request for a survey should consist of a list of proposed
USAOs to
participate, a proposed questionnaire or survey form, detailing the
specific
information sought and briefly summarizing the background and the
litigative,
legislative or other purpose for which the information is sought.
Whenever
possible, questionnaire forms shall be provided for replies by
United States
Attorneys. Requests for site visits should include: the sites to
be visited,
the desired dates for the visits, the overall scope and objectives
of the audit,
the persons or types of persons sought to be interviewed, and the
documents or
types of documents sought to be reviewed.
The requesting unit and the EOUSA shall cooperate to make any
necessary
modifications in proposed surveys prior to dissemination and shall
request the
participation of United States Attorneys. The EOUSA shall request
United States
Attorneys participation and coordinate the scheduling of visits.
The requesting
units shall fully inform the Director, EOUSA, of the results of
surveys and
provide copies of all written reports and other derivative
products.
The General Accounting Office (GAO) is part of the legislative
branch of the
government. It has statutory authority to examine departmental
activities and
we are obliged to cooperate with that agency. However, certain
information may
be restricted under law (e.g. grand jury material) or because of
the significant
risks involved with disclosure. In addition the functions of the
Department
serve important public interests and should not be interrupted
unduly. As a
result, we must balance our obligation to honor GAO authority to
conduct reviews
with our duty to maintain necessary confidences and to conduct
effectively our
public business.
Before responding to a GAO request, a USAO should immediately
consult with
the Counsel to the Director, EOUSA.
The following Urgent Report procedures should be followed for
communicating
major developments to the Department of Justice in new or pending
important
cases.
- Where a Justice Department litigating division has
assumed
responsibility for a case, the Department of Justice trial attorney
shall notify
promptly the appropriate supervisor within that division of any
major development
in an important case. One week advance notice should be provided
to the
appropriate supervisor whenever a major case development can be
anticipated. A
supervisor shall immediately report such information to the
appropriate Assistant
Attorney General. Upon receipt of the Urgent Report, the Assistant
Attorney
General shall notify the Associate Attorney General, when
appropriate, the Deputy
Attorney General and the Attorney General. Urgent Report
notification should be
made by a memorandum signed by the reporting attorney even where
verbal
communication has already taken place. Care should be taken to
assure that
material classified as "confidential" or above, not be transmitted
over the EMAIL
system but rather be transmitted over a secure STU-III Tr
iad facsimile.
- In cases where the United States Attorney's office controls
litigation,
communication of major developments should be made to the Executive
Office for
United States Attorneys as soon as possible, and where the
development can be
controlled, at least one week in advance. Again, communication of
an Urgent
Report via EMAIL is required even where verbal notice has been
given. The
Executive Office for United States Attorneys shall assume
responsibility for
further dissemination of the Urgent Report.
- In cases where the United States Attorney's office and a
Department of
Justice litigating division are jointly involved in litigation, the
United States
Attorney's office should report major developments to the Executive
Office for
United States Attorneys via the EMAIL Urgent Report system. Verbal
discussion
with a litigating division is no substitute for this
responsibility.
- Suggested criteria for determining what are major developments
in important
cases are listed below. Please note that this is not an exhaustive
list. Also
observe that developments can include many steps other than the
filing or
settling of a case; even procedural motions can be important enough
to report in
some instances.
- Implications cutting across several federal agencies;
- Large monetary liability at issue;
- State or local government unit as a party;
- Involvement of some aspect of foreign relations;
- High likelihood of coverage in news media, or Congressional
interest; and
- Any serious challenge to Presidential authority or national
security
concerns.
It is the policy and practice of the Department of Justice
to keep
appropriate officials, including the Assistant Attorney General for
the Criminal
Division or, when appropriate the Assistant Attorney General for
the Civil
Division, the Associate Attorney General, the Deputy Attorney
General and the
Attorney General, advised of sensitive criminal or civil
investigations
particularly those in which public figures or entities are subjects
of the
investigation. Urgent Reports must be submitted to advise these
Department
officials upon the initiation of such sensitive investigations. To
assure timely
communication of information developed during such investigation,
the below
listed procedures should be followed:
- This notification procedure shall not interrupt,
alter or delay
the normal conduct and pursuit of any investigation.
- If in the course of any federal investigation, it is
determined that an
interview, grand jury appearance or trial appearance is required of
any member
of Congress, federal judge, high executive branch official or other
nationally
prominent public figure, the responsible prosecuting or
investigating attorney
shall provide advance notice to the appropriate official in the
Department of
Justice before contacting the public figure. Where a Justice
department
litigating division has assumed responsibility for the
investigation, notice
shall be made by a memorandum signed by the reporting attorney. In
cases where
the United States Attorney's office controls the investigation or
where the
United States Attorney's office and a Department of Justice
litigating division
are jointly involved in the investigation, notice shall be made
through an EMAIL
Urgent Report. The Executive Office for United States Attorneys
shall assume
responsibility for further dissemination of the Urgent Report.
Similar notification should be made in advance of any indictment
of such public
figures. These procedures do not satisfy other applicable
consultative and
approval requirements, if any, that may apply.
- The Urgent Report should be submitted to the Department of
Justice as soon
as possible, preferably one week before the anticipated event. In
the case of
an emergency, the information may be communicated orally to the
appropriate
Assistant Attorney General for further dissemination to the
Associate Attorney
General, when necessary, the Deputy Attorney General and the
Attorney General.
Oral notification should be made as much in advance of the event as
possible, and
should be followed immediately by a memorandum signed by the
reporting attorney
where a Justice Department litigating division has assumed
responsibility for a
case or by EMAIL Urgent Report where the United States Attorney's
office is
involved in the case. Emergencies requiring waiver of the advance
notification
requirement should be rare as most investigative steps are planned
well in
advance.
- To preserve investigative integrity and to avert possible
unfair publicity,
Urgent Reports should be brief and avoid unnecessary investigative
detail. All
Urgent Reports will be kept on a limited official use basis.
Information falling within the criteria set forth below
should be sent
by EMAIL/FAX (utilizing a secured machine when appropriate),
followed by a
written memorandum, for further distribution to the Attorney
General, Deputy
Attorney General, Associate Attorney General and the appropriate
Assistant
Attorney General. United States Attorneys' offices will
communicate directly to
the Executive Office for United States Attorneys. Litigating
division staff
attorneys will communicate directly to the appropriate supervisor
at the
Department of Justice. Access to Urgent Reports is strictly
controlled and
limited to those officials having a need to know.
- Emergencies -- e.g., riots, taking of hostages,
hijacking,
kidnapping, prison escapes with attendant violence, serious bodily
injury to or
caused by Department personnel;
- Allegations of improper conduct by the Department or specific
Department
employee, a public official, or a public figure; including
criticism by a member
of Congress, a court, or other senior government officials of the
Department's
handling of a particular matter;
- Serious conflicts with other government agencies or
departments;
- Issues or events that may be of major interest to the press,
Congress or
the President; and
- Other information so important as to warrant the personal
attention of the
Attorney General within 24 hours.
See the EOUSA Resource
Manual at
143
| September 1997
| USAM Chapter 3-18
|