FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE TUESDAY, MAY 22, 2002 WWW.USDOJ.GOV

AG (202)514-2007 TDD (202) 514-1888

STATEMENT OF BARBARA COMSTOCK, DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

"In order to protect the President's exercise of his exclusive Executive powers, the Justice Department filed a motion to dismiss the unprecedented lawsuit brought by the General Accounting Office (GAO) to improperly inject itself and the courts into the President's exercise of his powers. The President has the constitutional right to obtain confidential advice from close advisors and to recommend legislation to Congress.

The National Energy Policy Development Group's (NEDPG) information-gathering and policy-developing activities fall within the President's exclusive responsibilities and outside the investigative authority of Congress. The GAO is a creation of Congress, and has limited power to investigate the government's financial transactions and to review the results of certain government programs to ensure they achieve their congressionally stated objectives.

The GAO's assertion of virtually unlimited authority to investigate the Executive Branch would revolutionize and violate the separation of powers doctrine that has made our nation's government so strong."

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