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May 13,2010
Via Email & Mail
Phil Angelides
Ms. Nathan M. Erickson
Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP
I 00 I Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20004
Clzairman
Re:
Treatment of ACA Non-Public Information
Hon. Bill Thomas
Vice Clzairman
Brooksley Born
Commissioner
Byron S. Georgiou
Commissioner
Senator Bob Graham
Commissioner
Dear Mr. Erickson:
On behalf of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission ("the Commission"), I write
to memorialize our understanding with respect to the treatment of non-public
information provided by ACA Financial Guaranty Corporation and its affiliates
("ACA") to the Commission and its staff.
When submitting information to the Commission please indicate what is truly
"non-public" to allow the Commission to track ACA' s submissions appropriately.
Please avoid categorizing everything as non-public, as to do so will make the
Commission's work more difficult and may lead to inadvertent public disclosure
outside of the terms of this letter.
Any non-public information that is obtained from ACA (please note that it is
likely that some of the information we receive from ACA we may also receive
Commissioner
from other sources without restriction) will be used only by employees and agents
of the Commission who have a need to know and use the information in the
Douglas Holtz-Eakin
performance of their official work duties in a manner consistent with its nonCommissioner
public status and applicable law. All persons with whom non-public information
is shared will be advised of and, as condition of receiving non-public information,
Heather H. Murren, CFA will agree to comply with the understanding in this letter.
Keith Hennessey
Commissioner
John W. Thompson
Commissioner
Peter J. Wallison
Commissioner
In accordance with its statutory mandate and its duty to the American public, the
Commission, if it determines it is in the public interest, may release to the public
non-public information obtained from ACA as part of any interim or final report
to the President and Congress, or in connection with any public hearings, if the
Commission determines to do so by a majority vote, or by the decision of the
Chairman and Vice Chairman acting together on behalf of the Commission.
Prior to any release of non-public information under the above paragraph, the
Commission will give written notice to ACA, and allow ACA to consult with the
Commission before the Commission uses any of the ACA's non-public
information in any interim or final report to the President and Congress, or in any
public hearing.
Thomas Greene
Executive Director
1717 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Suite 800 • Washington, DC 20006-4614
202.292.2799 • 202.632.1604 Fax
Nothing as described in this letter will prevent the Commission or its staff from complying with
a request or demand from a duly authorized Committee of the United States Congress with
authority to require and receive the non-public information, or a legally valid and enforceable
subpoena or order by a court of competent jurisdiction for the non-public information or
testimony related thereto.
Finally, all information obtained from ACA or relating to ACA will be transmitted to the
National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) following the completion of the
Commission's work. To the extent permitted by law, the Commission will request that NARA
not release to the public the ACA non-public information for an appropriate length of time. If
you have a legal basis to believe that the Commission is not required by law to provide certain
ACA information to NARA, please let us know.
If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me at 202-292-1339 or
GCohen@fcic.gov.
Thank you very much for ACA's continued cooperation.
Very truly yours,
Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission
Cc: Wendy Edelberg
Executive Director
Chris Seefer
Assistant Director & Deputy General Counsel
@FedFRASER