← DOUCHECLOSURE CLEARLY ERRONEOUS DRAFTING DESK • ONE LETTER • NO SECOND DRAFT
ACCOUNTABILITY0
LEGAL EXPOSURE5
COMMITTEE CREDULITY40
0/6CLAUSES SET
THE LETTER • LIVE DRAFTCLICK A PARAGRAPH TO REVISE
UNCLASSIFIED ⋅⋅ DRAFT ⋅⋅ NOT YET TRANSMITTED

Office of the Director
of National Clarification

Washington ⋅ The Directorate ⋅ Suite 1101

FILE 2013–Q7 / BROADLEAF DRAFT — UNSENT 14 JUNE
The Honorable Chairman
Select Committee on Oversight and Clarification
Room 219, The Annex
RE: TESTIMONY OF 14 MARCH — QUESTION SEVEN
Dear Mr. Chairman,
Respectfully,
Th e Direct or
THE DIRECTOROffice of the Director of National Clarification
Enclosure: none ⋅ cc: General Counsel, Legislative Affairs, Public Affairs
This correspondence is a work of parody. No real office, agency, committee or person appears in it.
UNCLASSIFIED ⋅⋅ PAGE 1 OF 1 ⋅⋅ RETAIN FOR THE RECORD
THE DRAFTING DESKCLAUSE 1 OF 6
OPENING
How does the letter announce itself?

Six clauses. One page. Counsel has cleared it, or counsel has objected, and either way it goes out at close of business.

You may still click any paragraph in the letter to change it. Nothing is final until it is transmitted, at which point everything is.

DRAFTING DESK • ONE PAGE MAXIMUMCLAUSES SET: 0/6

KEYS — 1–5 CHOOSE A CLAUSE • ← → MOVE BETWEEN SLOTS • ENTER TRANSMIT / CONTINUE

READER 1 OF 3
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—

The Finding

How To Spot A Non-Apology — And Which Ones You Used

    THE THREE-NAME TEST. A real apology names the act, names the actor, and names who was harmed. Read any public apology and look for all three. If one is missing it was probably drafted by more than one person. If all three are missing, the document is not an apology — it is a position, and it is doing its job perfectly.

    You Have To Write It
    By Close Of Business.

    On 14 March, in open session, the Director was asked Question Seven — a yes-or-no question about Program Broadleaf — and said no. Documents released since then say otherwise. The Chairman has requested a letter.

    You are the person drafting it. Six paragraphs. Four or five candidate clauses each, pulled from the shelf where this building keeps them, ranging from an actual admission to a document so smooth it could be framed.

    Standing Guidance From The Front Office

    • ACCOUNTABILITY — how much of the act the letter actually admits to.
    • LEGAL EXPOSURE — how much of it a lawyer can later be handed. Counsel would like this low.
    • COMMITTEE CREDULITY — how willing the Committee is to consider the matter closed.
    • THE CLAUSE SHELF — every option has a note under it explaining the technique. Read the notes. That is the actual product here.
    • REVISION — click any paragraph in the letter to swap the clause. Free, until you transmit.
    • THREE PEOPLE READ IT — and they do not want the same letter. You cannot satisfy all three.

    One page. One draft. The phrase you choose is going to be quoted for longer than you will be employed.