Opinion ID: 574318
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Department of Justice Investigations and Westinghouse's Disclosures Pursuant Thereto

Text: 10 In 1978, the DOJ began to investigate Westinghouse. The DOJ's investigation explored whether Westinghouse had made illegal payments to obtain contracts not only in the Philippines, but also in other countries. A grand jury subsequently issued a subpoena, with which Westinghouse complied, requesting that the company produce certain privileged documents (not at issue here) subject to the confidentiality protections of FRCrP 6(e). The DOJ's investigation ended when Westinghouse entered into a plea agreement concerning payments that the company admitted making in order to obtain business in Egypt. 11 In 1986, after Marcos was deposed as President of the Philippines, the DOJ reactivated its 1978 investigation of Westinghouse's conduct in procuring the turnkey contract on the Philippine nuclear plant. A grand jury subpoenaed the Kirkland & Ellis letters reporting the results of Westinghouse's internal investigation, as well as all documents accumulated in connection with that investigation. In an effort to preserve its attorney-client privilege and work-product protection, Westinghouse moved to quash the subpoena. After entering into a confidentiality agreement with the DOJ, subsequently memorialized in a stipulated court order entered in the district court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, Westinghouse disclosed the subpoenaed documents to the grand jury. According to Westinghouse, this agreement, which was itself confidential, provided 12 that the [DOJ] review at Westinghouse counsel's office (but not keep copies of) attorney-client privileged and work product protected materials in the Kirkland & Ellis files, that the information contained therein would not be disclosed to anyone outside of the [DOJ], and that such review of the Kirkland & Ellis documents would not constitute a waiver of Westinghouse's work product and attorney-client privileges. 13 See 132 F.R.D. at 385-86. The DOJ's investigation is apparently still ongoing (at least the record does not indicate the contrary).