®Hire of f:4e ~eput-g J'.ttorne-g ®enerm )ll!las~ingion, :!El-(!1· 20530 January 30, 2014 The Honorable Jim Jordan Chairman Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Job Creation and Regulatory Affairs Committee on Oversight and Government Reform U.S. House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515 Dear Chairman Jordan: This responds to your letter to a trial attorney in the Civil Rights Division, dated January 28, 2014, requesting her testimony at a Subcommittee hearing on February 6, 2014 regarding the Department of Justice's ongoing criminal investigation into the Internal Revenue Service' s treatment of groups applying for tax-exempt status. We need to advise you that neither this attorney, nor anyone in the Department, will be in a position to provide testimony about this ongoing law enforcement matter. Because ofthe importance of this issue, I write to you personally. The Department's longstanding policy, applied across Administrations, is to decline to provide Congress with non-public information about ongoing criminal investigations. This policy is intended to protect the effectiveness and integrity of the criminal justice process, as well as the privacy interests of third parties. It also is founded upon our commitment to avoiding any perception that our law enforcement efforts are subject to undue influence from elected officials. Our disclosure of non-public information about this pending investigation would be inconsistent with this long-standing policy and could undermine judicial confidence in the independence of the criminal justice process. The Attorney General reiterated this position in his testimony yesterday before the Senate Judiciary Committee when he explained, in response to questions about details of the ongoing investigation, that it would be inappropriate for him to provide such information. It would similarly be inappropriate for anyone at the Department to testify at a hearing about the ongoing investigation. Your letter indicates that the Subcommittee seeks to question the line prosecutor about the investigation itself, as well as your views regarding her suitability for this assignmentwhich the Department addressed in the letter to you of January 24, 2014. Members of Congress have long understood and respected the Department's strongly-held concern that subjecting line prosecutors to congressional questioning poses significant risks to the Department's law enforcement efforts and would have a chilling effect on Department attorneys. The Honorable Jim Jordan Page 2 As the Attorney General testified yesterday, until this investigation is completed the Department will not be in a position to provide Congress information about it. Sincerely, ~~ James M. Cole Deputy Attorney General