US. Department of Justice Office of Legislative Affairs Office ofthe Assistant Atorney General Washington, D.C. 20530 “The Honorable Robert W, Goodlatte Chairman Committee onthe Judiciary US. House of Representatives Washington, DC 20510 Deer Chairman Goodlatte: We write to acknowledge receipt ofthe March 22, 2018 Subpoena (Subpoena) issued by the House Committee on the Judiciary (Committe). Most ofthe documents are inthe custody of ‘the FBI, and we are working with them to comply We take the Committee's request for information seriously and seek to accommodate all requests for information in a manner that i consistent with the Department’ law enforcement duties and the Executive Branch's confidentiality interests, Paragraph 1 ofthe Subpoena seeks “al documents and communications provided to or ‘obvained by the Department of Justice's Office of Inspector General (O1G) regarding the Federal ‘Bureau of Investigation’ (FBI) decision-making with respect to the FBI's investigation of former Seeretary Clinton's private email server.” Since the Committee first requested these documents in November 2017, approximately ‘twenty-seven FBI staff have been working to produce responsive documents on a rolling ‘As you know, the Department and the FBI have been producing documents to the Committee every 10 to 14 days. Upon receiving the November 20, 2017 request, the FBI conducted an clectroni scarch for relevant tenms to identify the documents most pertinent to the Committe’s investigation as deseribed in its November 3, 2017 letter to the Department. When the Department and the FBI identify a responsive document, we review it only to ensure that it does not include grand jury information, information about ongoing law snforsement aston, or confidential attomey work-product or privileged attorney-client communications. When that review is complete, we provide the documents to the Committe. In eases where redactions are necessary, the Department has, when appropriate, given Committee staff an opportunity to review the original materials. In the interest of fll transparency, the FBI’s General Counsel's Office will soon provide the Committee with a detailed written explanation ofthe review and redaction process being followed to respond to this request.‘The Honorable Robert W. Goodlatte Page Two Further, in August 2016, the FBI provided the Committe its letterhead memorandum-2 32-page single-spaced document describing the FBI’s investigation pertaining to Seeretary Clinton’s use of a private e-mail server-and thirty-seven FBI 302s reflecting the substance of 138 interviews. In September 2016, the FBI provided ten additional FBI 302s redacted to protect highly classified, Special Access Program information, The production included the FBI 302 pertaining to the interview of Secretary Clinton. We are expeditiously reviewing the remaining documents to determine whether they are responsive. In fact, dhe FBI is king steps w expedite die pace of production by doubly frou twenty-seven to fifly-four the number of employees assigned tothe document review. They will ‘be stafling two daily shifts operating from 8:00 am to midnight. We understand the Committee's request for an accounting of redactions and the FBI’s justifications thereof, and we look forward to reaching a mutually acceptable agreement with the Committe. ‘Regarding Paragraph 2 ofthe Subpoena, the Department will provide responsive information Infact, a Department employee previously provided the Committe the identities of the referenced employees during an interview. ‘The Department has previously communicated to the Committe thatthe document referenced in Paragraph 3 ofthe Schedule is a memorandum authored by an attorney. It contains confidential sttomey work product and sttomey-client communications that are not subject to disclosure, In the subpocna, certain categories of documents are requested fr the first time, @ significant deviation from the traditional method of accommodating congressional request for formation without compulsory process. For example, Paragraph 4 demands “all documents and communications relied upon by the FBI's Office of Professional Responsibility in reaching decisions to recommend the dismissal of former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe.” Mr “McCabe's dismissal occurred only @ week prior fo the issuance of the subpoena. The Department will work with the Committe to accommodate this request in an appropriate ‘Several paragraphs ofthe Schedule, including Paragraph 5, refer to highly sensitive law enforcement and national security dacuments thatthe Department previously made available to the Chairman, Ranking Member, and designated Committe staff for review. These include ‘more than 1,000 pages related to the FBI's investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election. These sensitive documents remain availabe for review atthe Department, ‘The Department previously made documents responsive to Paragraph 8 of the Schedule available tothe Committee for review. The material remains availabe for review by designated representatives ofthe Committee. ‘The Committee has not previously requested the dacuments described in Paragraph 9. We will determine if any responsive documents exist and whether the Department is in to provide them.‘The Honorable Robert W. Goodlatte Page Three We will evaluate other requests included inthe Subpoena, including those described in Paragraphs 6 and 7 to determine what responsive documents exist, if any ‘The Department recognizes and appreciates the Committe’s oversight interest in these areas, and we will work with you und your staf whenever possible to enhance the rate of productions and make information and documentation responsive tothe subpoena available in & ‘manner consistent with the Department's responsibilities. Department staff will catact the Commie. schedule a meeting between the Commer und the FBE o Uiscuss the Department's process for responding tothe Committee's request in greater detail Steen Boyd istant Attorney General