[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 47 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 47
To create an alternative prosecutor for certain Federal offenses.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 3, 2019
Ms. Jackson Lee introduced the following bill; which was referred to
the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To create an alternative prosecutor for certain Federal offenses.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Trusted, Reliable, Unquestioned
Method of Procedure for Special Counsel Appointment, Limitations, and
Powers Act of 2019'' or the ``TRUMP Special Counsel Act''.
SEC. 2. GROUNDS FOR APPOINTING A SPECIAL COUNSEL.
(a) In General.--The Attorney General shall appoint a Special
Counsel when the Attorney General determines that--
(1) criminal investigation of a person or matter is
warranted;
(2) that investigation or prosecution of that person or
matter by a United States Attorney's Office or litigating
Division of the Department of Justice would present a conflict
of interest for the Department or other extraordinary
circumstances; and
(3) under the circumstances, it would be in the public
interest to appoint an outside Special Counsel to assume
responsibility for the matter.
(b) Extraordinary Circumstances.--For the purposes of subsection
(a) extraordinary circumstances exist in any criminal investigation--
(1) of the President, Vice President, their spouses or
children, or any organization, enterprise, or entity owned by,
under the control of, or serving the interests of the President
or Vice President; or
(2) which involves the activities of agents or entities
under the control of or allied with a foreign state acting in
concert with agents, organizations or entities associated with
the President or the Vice President.
SEC. 3. ALTERNATIVES AVAILABLE TO THE ATTORNEY GENERAL.
(a) In General.--When matters are brought to the attention of the
Attorney General that might warrant consideration of appointment of a
Special Counsel, the Attorney General may--
(1) appoint a Special Counsel;
(2) direct that an initial investigation, consisting of
such factual inquiry or legal research as the Attorney General
deems appropriate, be conducted in order to better inform the
decision; or
(3) conclude that under the circumstances of the matter,
the public interest would not be served by removing the
investigation from the normal processes of the Department, and
that the appropriate component of the Department should handle
the matter.
(b) Mitigation of Conflicts of Interest.--If the Attorney General
reaches the conclusion described in subsection (a)(3), the Attorney
General may direct that appropriate steps be taken to mitigate any
conflicts of interest, such as recusal of particular officials.
SEC. 4. QUALIFICATIONS OF THE SPECIAL COUNSEL.
(a) In General.--An individual named as Special Counsel shall be a
lawyer with a reputation for integrity and impartial decisionmaking,
and with appropriate experience to ensure both that the investigation
will be conducted ably, expeditiously and thoroughly, and that
investigative and prosecutorial decisions will be supported by an
informed understanding of the criminal law and Department of Justice
policies. The Special Counsel shall be selected from outside the United
States Government. Special Counsels shall agree that their
responsibilities as Special Counsel shall take first precedence in
their professional lives, and that it may be necessary to devote their
full time to the investigation, depending on its complexity and the
stage of the investigation.
(b) Method of Appointment; Background Investigation.--The Attorney
General shall consult with the Assistant Attorney General for
Administration to ensure an appropriate method of appointment, and to
ensure that a Special Counsel undergoes an appropriate background
investigation and a detailed review of ethics and conflicts of interest
issues. A Special Counsel shall be appointed as a ``confidential
employee'' as defined in section 7511(b)(2)(C) of title 5, United
States Code.
SEC. 5. JURISDICTION.
(a) Original Jurisdiction.--The jurisdiction of a Special Counsel
shall be established by the Attorney General. The Attorney General
shall provide to the Special Counsel a specific factual statement of
the matter to be investigated. The jurisdiction of a Special Counsel
shall also include the authority to investigate and prosecute Federal
crimes committed in the course of, and with intent to interfere with,
the Special Counsel's investigation, such as perjury, obstruction of
justice, destruction of evidence, and intimidation of witnesses; and to
conduct appeals arising out of any matter being investigated or
prosecuted.
(b) Additional Jurisdiction.--If in the course of an investigation
the Special Counsel concludes that additional jurisdiction beyond that
specified in the original jurisdiction is necessary in order to fully
investigate and resolve the matters assigned, or to investigate new
matters that come to light in the course of the investigation, the
Special Counsel shall consult with the Attorney General, who will
determine whether to include the additional matters within the Special
Counsel's jurisdiction or assign them elsewhere.
(c) Civil and Administrative Jurisdiction.--If in the course of an
investigation the Special Counsel determines that administrative
remedies, civil sanctions or other governmental action outside the
criminal justice system might be appropriate, the Special Counsel shall
consult with the Attorney General with respect to the appropriate
component to take any necessary action. A Special Counsel shall not
have civil or administrative authority unless specifically granted such
jurisdiction by the Attorney General.
SEC. 6. STAFF.
A Special Counsel may request the assignment of appropriate
Department employees to assist the Special Counsel. The Department
shall gather and provide the Special Counsel with the names and resumes
of appropriate personnel available for detail. The Special Counsel may
also request the detail of specific employees, and the office for which
the designated employee works shall make reasonable efforts to
accommodate the request. The Special Counsel shall assign the duties
and supervise the work of such employees while they are assigned to the
Special Counsel. If necessary, the Special Counsel may request that
additional personnel be hired or assigned from outside the Department.
All personnel in the Department shall cooperate to the fullest extent
possible with the Special Counsel.
SEC. 7. POWERS AND AUTHORITY.
Subject to the limitations in section 8, the Special Counsel shall
exercise, within the scope of the Special Counsel's jurisdiction, the
full power and independent authority to exercise all investigative and
prosecutorial functions of any United States Attorney. Except as
provided in this part, the Special Counsel shall determine whether and
to what extent to inform or consult with the Attorney General or others
within the Department about the conduct of the Special Counsel's duties
and responsibilities.
SEC. 8. CONDUCT AND ACCOUNTABILITY.
(a) Rules of the Department of Justice.--A Special Counsel shall
comply with the rules, regulations, procedures, practices and policies
of the Department of Justice. The Special Counsel shall consult with
appropriate offices within the Department for guidance with respect to
established practices, policies and procedures of the Department,
including ethics and security regulations and procedures. Should the
Special Counsel conclude that the extraordinary circumstances of any
particular decision would render compliance with required review and
approval procedures by the designated Departmental component
inappropriate, the Special Counsel may consult directly with the
Attorney General.
(b) Supervision by Officials of Department of Justice.--The Special
Counsel shall not be subject to the day-to-day supervision of any
official of the Department. However, the Attorney General may request
that the Special Counsel provide an explanation for any investigative
or prosecutorial step, and may after review conclude that the action is
so inappropriate or unwarranted under established Departmental
practices that it should not be pursued. In conducting that review, the
Attorney General will give great weight to the views of the Special
Counsel. If the Attorney General concludes that a proposed action by a
Special Counsel should not be pursued, the Attorney General shall
notify Congress as specified in section 11(a)(3).
(c) Ethical Duties.--The Special Counsel and staff shall be subject
to disciplinary action for misconduct and breach of ethical duties
under the same standards and to the same extent as are other employees
of the Department of Justice. Inquiries into such matters shall be
handled through the appropriate office of the Department upon the
approval of the Attorney General.
(d) Discipline and Removal.--The Special Counsel may be disciplined
or removed from office only by the personal action of the Attorney
General. The Attorney General may remove a Special Counsel for
misconduct, dereliction of duty, incapacity, conflict of interest, or
for other good cause, including violation of Departmental policies. The
Attorney General shall inform the Special Counsel in writing of the
specific reason for the removal.
SEC. 9. NOTIFICATION AND REPORTS BY THE SPECIAL COUNSEL.
(a) Budget.--
(1) A Special Counsel shall be provided all appropriate
resources by the Department of Justice. Within the first 60
days of appointment, the Special Counsel shall develop a
proposed budget for the current fiscal year with the assistance
of the Justice Management Division for the Attorney General's
review and approval. Based on the proposal, the Attorney
General shall establish a budget for the operations of the
Special Counsel. The budget shall include a request for
assignment of personnel, with a description of the
qualifications needed.
(2) Thereafter, 90 days before the beginning of each fiscal
year, the Special Counsel shall report to the Attorney General
the status of the investigation, and provide a budget request
for the following year. The Attorney General shall determine
whether the investigation should continue and, if so, establish
the budget for the next year.
(b) Notification of Significant Events.--The Special Counsel shall
notify the Attorney General of events in the course of the
investigation in conformity with the Departmental guidelines with
respect to Urgent Reports.
(c) Closing Documentation.--At the conclusion of the Special
Counsel's work, the Special Counsel shall provide the Attorney General
with a confidential report explaining the prosecution or declination
decisions reached by the Special Counsel.
SEC. 10. NOTIFICATION AND REPORTS BY THE ATTORNEY GENERAL.
(a) Notification.--The Attorney General shall notify the Chairman
and Ranking Minority Member of the Judiciary Committees of each House
of Congress, with an explanation for each action--
(1) upon appointing a Special Counsel;
(2) upon removing any Special Counsel; and
(3) upon conclusion of the Special Counsel's investigation,
including, to the extent consistent with applicable law, a
description and explanation of instances (if any) in which the
Attorney General concluded that a proposed action by a Special
Counsel was so inappropriate or unwarranted under established
Departmental practices that it should not be pursued.
(b) Delay of Notification.--The notification requirement in
subsection (a)(1) of this section may be tolled by the Attorney General
upon a finding that legitimate investigative or privacy concerns
require confidentiality. At such time as confidentiality is no longer
needed, the notification shall be provided.
(c) Public Release.--The Attorney General may determine that public
release of these reports would be in the public interest, to the extent
that release would comply with applicable legal restrictions. All other
releases of information by any Department of Justice employee,
including the Special Counsel and staff, concerning matters handled by
Special Counsels shall be governed by the generally applicable
Departmental guidelines concerning public comment with respect to any
criminal investigation, and relevant law.
SEC. 11. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
(a) In General.--There are authorized to be appropriated to carry
out this Act $100,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2020 through
2024.
(b) Availability.--Funds appropriated under subsection (a) shall
remain available until expended.
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