A United States Attorney or Assistant Attorney General may decline to authorize disclosure of information sought through a demand and may defend that decision by, for example, filing a motion to quash, without seeking higher-level approval. Declining to authorize disclosure is without prejudice, of course, to action by the Deputy Attorney General or the Associate Attorney General, depending upon which official supervises the component referring the demand, in the face of a final court order requiring production. If a federal court issues a final order requiring production, only the Deputy Attorney General or the Associate Attorney General is authorized to determine whether to issue a final denial, which may constitute a decision not to comply with a final court order requiring disclosure. See JM 1-6.400 for a full discussion.

[Updated April 2018]