WillowTree
Diamond Member
- Sep 15, 2008
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https://www.politico.com/f/?id=00000160-616c-dcd4-a96b-756de2a90000
Presidential transitions occupy a unique legal space. Although they undertake executive or quasi-executive functions and have certain rights associated with executive authority, they are not federal agencies. The authority supporting this conclusion includes the following:
o The Presidential Transition Act of 1963, as amended, provides that a presidential transition must be organized as a “separate fund” and operated as a private social welfare corporation pursuant to section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code. See 3 U.S.C. § 2 note § 3(h)(3)(A). If presidential transition teams were governmental agencies, this requirement would be unnecessary. See generally Internal Revenue Service, 1990 Exempt Organization CPE, available at https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-tege/eotopice90.pdf (discussing tax exemption for governmental entities).
o The U.S. Department of Justice has for nearly 30 years maintained that presidential transition entities are not “agencies” within the meaning of the Freedom of Information Act. This interpretation was most recently affirmed during the Obama Administration. See U.S. Dep’t of Justice, FOIA Counselor: Transition Team FOIA Issues, FOIA Update, Vol. IX, No. 4 (Jan. 1, 1988, rev. Sept. 1, 2016), available at https:
Presidential transitions occupy a unique legal space. Although they undertake executive or quasi-executive functions and have certain rights associated with executive authority, they are not federal agencies. The authority supporting this conclusion includes the following:
o The Presidential Transition Act of 1963, as amended, provides that a presidential transition must be organized as a “separate fund” and operated as a private social welfare corporation pursuant to section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code. See 3 U.S.C. § 2 note § 3(h)(3)(A). If presidential transition teams were governmental agencies, this requirement would be unnecessary. See generally Internal Revenue Service, 1990 Exempt Organization CPE, available at https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-tege/eotopice90.pdf (discussing tax exemption for governmental entities).
o The U.S. Department of Justice has for nearly 30 years maintained that presidential transition entities are not “agencies” within the meaning of the Freedom of Information Act. This interpretation was most recently affirmed during the Obama Administration. See U.S. Dep’t of Justice, FOIA Counselor: Transition Team FOIA Issues, FOIA Update, Vol. IX, No. 4 (Jan. 1, 1988, rev. Sept. 1, 2016), available at https: