To the House of Representatives:
In reply to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 10th ultimo, requesting the President of the United States, "if not incompatible with the public interest, to communicate to the House any report or reports made by the Judge-Advocate-General or any other officer of the Government as to the grounds, facts, or accusations upon which Jefferson Davis, Clement C. Clay, jr., Stephen R. Mallory, and David L. Yulee, or either of them, are held in confinement," I transmit herewith reports from the Secretary of War and the Attorney-General, and concur in the opinion therein expressed that the publication of the papers called for by the resolution is not at the present time compatible with the public interest.
ANDREW JOHNSON.
Andrew Johnson, Special Message Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/203475