Another OLC Opinion or The Unitary Executive Never Quits

Another OLC opinion surfaces where acting head of the DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel Steven Bradbury sees things that are not there and doesn’t see the things that are there:

Constitutionality Of Direct Reporting Requirement In Section 802(E)(1) Of The Implementing Recommendations Of The 9/11 Commission Act Of 2007

My summary – Congress legislated that:

…that the Chief Privacy Officer ("CPO") of the Department of Homeland Security ("DHS" or "the Department") must submit reports "directly to the Congress . . . without any prior comment or amendment by the Secretary, Deputy Secretary, or any other officer or employee of the Department or of the Office of Management and Budget"…

Why might this all be important you ask?

Because the Department of Homeland Security’s Chief Privacy Officer is legislatively tasked to:

As provided in section 802, the CPO is responsible for investigating and ensuring departmental compliance with federal privacy laws and programs, and has policymaking authority over departmental policies as well as regulatory and legislative proposals for the collection, use, and disclosure of personal information by the federal Government generally.

You know, stuff like whether everyday normal American folks are included on Terrorist Watch Lists, Warrantless Surveillance.

Stuff like whether rumors, misinformation, out-and-out inaccurate information on everyday normal American folks are hoovered up into US Government databases.

And the gist of Bradbury’s opinion?

Congress can’t prevent the Unitary Executive from re-writing the report from this supposedly "independent" Chief Privacy Officer of the Department of Homeland Security who has been legislatively mandated to report directly to Congress on any DHS privacy crimes and violations.

Guess we’re all surprised. NOT!