[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 42, Number 21 (Monday, May 29, 2006)]
[Page 1018]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Memorandum on Handling of Materials Held by the Department of Justice 
Following Execution of a Search Warrant

May 25, 2006

Memorandum for the Attorney General and the Solicitor General of the 
United States

Subject: Handling of Materials Held by the Department of Justice 
Following Execution of a Search Warrant

    After taking appropriate account of the respective constitutional 
functions of the House of Representatives and of the executive branch, 
including important law enforcement interests, the protections afforded 
those functions under the Constitution, and the need for comity between 
the executive and legislative branches in the service of the American 
people, I direct that, with respect to the materials taken pursuant to 
the warrant dated May 18, 2006, and captioned ``In the Matter of the 
Search of Rayburn House Office Building Room Number 2113,'' including 
any copies thereof or items derived in whole or in part therefrom:
    (1) The Attorney General, acting through the Solicitor General of 
the United States who shall for this purpose be subject to no 
supervision by any officer of the Department of Justice other than the 
Attorney General, shall (a) preserve and seal the materials, (b) ensure 
that no use is made of the materials, and (c) ensure that no person has 
access to the materials, except that Office of the Solicitor General 
personnel under the direct supervision of the Solicitor General may have 
the minimum physical access to the materials essential to the 
preservation of the materials.
    (2) The Attorney General shall endeavor, and the House of 
Representatives is respectfully encouraged to endeavor, to resolve any 
issues relating to the materials through discussions between them in 
good faith and with mutual institutional respect and, if it should prove 
necessary after exhaustion of such discussions, through appropriate 
proceedings in the courts of the United States.
    The Attorney General shall keep me informed of discussions to which 
this memorandum refers and proceedings relating to the materials. This 
memorandum shall expire on July 9, 2006.
                                                George W. Bush
    cc: The Speaker of the House of Representatives

Note: An original was not available for verification of the content of 
this memorandum.