Judicial Watch, Inc. v. Department of Justice

Dissenting opinion filed by Circuit Judge RANDOLPH.

ROGERS, Circuit Judge:

In In re Sealed Case, 121 F.3d 729 (D.C.Cir.1997), the court, in considering a grand jury subpoena for White House documents relating to an investigation of the former Secretary of Agriculture, reviewed the history of the executive privilege doctrine, and the nature and principles underlying two privileges falling within that doctrine. We apply that analysis in deciding whether, under Exemption 5 of the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”), 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(5), the presidential communications privilege extends into the…