A meeting or portions of a meeting may be closed and information pertaining to such meeting or portions of a meeting may be withheld from the public only if the Commission determines that such meeting or portions of a meeting or the disclosure of such information is likely to:

Disclose matters that are:

Specifically authorized under criteria established by an Executive Order to be kept secret in the interest of national defense or foreign policy, and

To be properly classified under that Executive Order;

Relate solely to the internal personnel rules and practices of the Commission;

Disclose matters specifically exempted from disclosure by statute (other than the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 552) provided that the statute:

Requires that the matters be withheld from the public in such a manner as to leave no discretion on the issue, or

Establishes particular criteria for withholding or refers to particular types of matters to be withheld;

Disclose the trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person and privileged or confidential;

Involve either accusing any person of a crime or formally censuring any person;

Disclose information of a personal nature, if disclosure would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy;

Disclose either investigatory records compiled for law enforcement purposes or information which, if written, would be contained in such records but only to the extent that the production of the records or information would:

Interfere with enforcement proceedings,

Deprive a person of a right to either a fair trial or an impartial adjudication,

Constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy,

Disclose the identity of a confidential source or sources and, in the case of a record compiled either by a criminal law enforcement authority in the course of a criminal investigation or by an agency conducting a lawful national security intelligence investigation, confidential information furnished only by the confidential source or sources,

Disclose investigative techniques and procedures, or

Endanger the life or physical safety of law enforcement personnel;

Disclose information contained in or related to examination, operating, or condition reports prepared by, on behalf of, or for the use of an agency responsible for the regulation or supervision of financial institutions;

Disclose information the premature disclosure of which would be likely to significantly frustrate implementation of a proposed action of the Commission. This exception shall not apply in any instance where the Commission has already disclosed to the public the content or nature of the proposed action or where the Commission is required by law to make such disclosure on its own initiative prior to taking final action on the proposal; or

Specifically concern the issuance of a subpoena by the Commission; or the participation of the Commission in a civil action or proceeding, an action in a foreign court or international tribunal, or an arbitration; or the initiation, conduct, or disposition by the Commission of a particular case of formal adjudication under the procedures in 5 U.S.C. 554 or otherwise involving a determination on the record after opportunity for a hearing.

Before a meeting or portions of a meeting may be closed to public observation, the Commission shall determine, notwithstanding the exemptions set forth in paragraph (a) of this section, whether the public interest requires that the meeting or portions of a meeting be open consistent with Federal law. The Commission may open a meeting or portions of a meeting that could be closed under paragraph (a) of this section if the Commission finds it to be in the public interest to do so and the disclosure is not otherwise prohibited by Federal law.