from receipt of such notice the Chairman does not receive written notice from the Attorney General or his designee objecting to the proposed disclosure and stating the reasons for it, the Committee may disclose the information.

B. If the Attorney General or his designee notifies the Committee within five days that he objects to the proposed disclosure of such information, and states the reasons for the objection, the Chairman of the Committee and the Attorney General, or their designated representatives, shall meet to attempt to resolve any differences over the information to be disclosed. If the Chairman of the Committee considers that the negotiations have reached an impasse, he will give the Attorney General written notice to that effect, and the Committee will take no steps until at least 14 days thereafter to disclose the information in dispute. C. Any differences left unresolved by negotiation may become the subject of litigation. In any such action, each party will be free to assert all its constitutional, statutory, or other legal rights, and the parties hereby agree to be bound by the final outcome of any such action. If such an action is commenced by the Executive Branch but is disposed of without a judicial decision on the merits of the disclosure issue, the Committee agrees that it will not on that basis, or on the basis of its 14-day notice letter, disclose the information in dispute. This Memorandum, however, is without prejudice to any of the Committee's other rights, privileges and responsibilities concerning the production by legal compulsion and disclosure of information, and the Attorney General's rights, privileges and responsibilities concerning the protection from disclosure of the information

II. MEMORANDUM AND DOCUMENTS RELATED TO THE
SELECT COMMITTEE'S ACQUISITION OF EVIDENCE
A. MEMORANDUM ON THE SELECT COMMITTEE ON ASSASSINATIONS AND
PROSPECTIVE JUDICIAL PROCEEDINGS IN THE DISTRICT COURT

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

The Select Committee on Assassinations (Select

Committee) was first established in the 94th Congress on
September 17, 1976 by House Resolution 1540. The 95th

Congress reconstituted the Select Committee on Assassinations
by House Resolution 222 and extended its duration for the
length of the 95th Congress by House Resolution 433.

House Resolution 760, enacted on September 28, 1977, granted the Select Committee specific authority to make applications to courts, and to bring and defend lawsuits in enumerated situations. Copies of House Resolutions 222, 433 and 760

are attached.

LEGISLATIVE MANDATE

The legislative mandate of the Select Committee
is primarily defined in House Resolution 222. It is

"to conduct a full and complete investigation
and study of the circumstances surrounding the
assassination and death of President John F.
Kennedy and the assassination and death of Martin
Luther King, Junior... and to 7 make recommenda-
tions to the House... if the select committee
decms it appropriate, for the amendment of
existing legislation or the enactment of new
legislation."

COMMITTEE STRUCTURE

The Honorable Louis Stokes is Chairman of the

Select Committee. The Committee established two

subcommittees to fulfill its legislative mandate. One subcommittee, chaired by the Honorable Richardson Preyer, is the Subcommittee on the Assassination of John F. Kennedy; the other, chaired by the Honorable Walter E. Fauntroy, is the Subcommittee on the Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.. A list of the Members of the entire Committee and each Subcommittee is attached to this memorandum.

The Committee adopted rules of procedure on

March 7, 1977 and amended them on September 9, 1977. A copy of the Rules, as amended, is attached.

BASIC STATUTORY PROVISION

The statutory provision that primarily will govern the Committee's relationship to this court is the Organized Crime Control Act of 1970, particularly Titles II (immunity), III (civil contempt), and IV (perjury).

INSTANCES IN WHICH THE COMMITTEE
MAY SEEK TO INVOKE THE POWERS OF
THIS COURT

A. Applications for Grants of Immunity

Title II of the Organized Crime Control Act of 1970

empowered the federal district courts to grant use immunity

to witnesses appearing in proceedings before courts,

grand juries, administrative agencies, and congressional
1
committees. The Select Committee expects occasionally
to make applications to courts to confer immunity upon
The Select Committee, by resolutions of

witnesses.

the House of Representatives, has the power to make 3

immunity applications to courts. Each application

for immunity will be accompanied by a certification of
the vote of at least 2/3 of the full committee authorizing
such application, and a copy of the notice required to

be delivered to the Attorney General at least 10 days
in advance of the application.

Where these statutory

1. 84 Stat. 926-932, 18 U.S.C. §§ 6001-6005.

All

statutes and resolutions cited in this memorandum are printed in full in the attached Appendix.

2. See 18 U.S.C. §§ 6002 and 6005.

...

3. H. Res. 222, 95th Cong., 1st Sess. (1977) ("The select Committee shall be considered a committee of the House of Representatives for all purposes of law, including but not limited to §§ 6002 and 6005 of Title 18, United States Code, or any other Act of Congress regulating thegranting of immunity to witnesses...) and H. Res. 760, 95th Cong., 1st Sess. (1977) (Select Committee authorized "to make applications to courts").

4. 18 U.S.c. § 6005.

prerequisites have been met, the court must grant immunity to the witness and issue an order compelling the witness to testify before the Committee.

B. Civil Contempt Proceedings

5

Title III of the same statute empowers the courts to hold in civil contempt witnesses who refuse to comply without just cause with a court's order to testify in any 6 proceeding ancillary to any court of the United States.

Each application by the Select Committee for a civil contempt citation will be made by a motion to the court authorized by a majority of the Committee or Subcommittee

Members voting, a majority being present.

7

C. Criminal contempt proceedings and perjury prosecutions.
There may be criminal prosecutions brought

against witnesses for contempt of Congress or perjury.

8

Any prosecutions, of course, will be brought by the United

States Attorney's Office after the Select Committee has

followed the applicable procedures.

5.

9

Application of United States Senate Select
Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities,
361 F. Supp. 1270 (D.D.C. 1973) (Sirica, J.).

6.

84 Stat. 932, 28 U.S.C. § 1826.

7.

H. Res. 760, 95th Cong., 1st Sess. (1977).

8.

9.

2 U.S.C. § 192 (contempt); 18 U.S.C. §§ 1621, 1623 (perjury).
See,e.g., 2 U.S.C. § 194 (House, when in session, must
certify criminal contempt case to U.S. Attorney; when not in
session, Speaker must make certification). See also
Wilson v. United States, 369 F. 2d 198 (D.C. Cir. 1966)
(certification under § 194 not automatic; House or Speaker,
ment deliberate before certifying case to prosecutor).