Citizens Protection Act of 1998

Summary: TABLE OF CONTENTS: 
     Title I:  Ethical Standards for Federal Prosecutors 
     Title II:  Punishable Conduct 
Citizens Protection Act of 1998 - 
Title I:  Ethical Standards for Federal Prosecutors
 - Subjects a Government attorney to State laws and rules, and local Federal court rules, governing attorneys in each State where such attorney engages in duties to the same extent and in the same manner as other attorneys in that State. 
Directs the Attorney General to make and amend rules of the Department of Justice (DOJ) to assure compliance with this title. 
Title II:  Punishable Conduct
 - Directs the Attorney General to:  (1) establish by rule that it shall be punishable conduct for any DOJ employee to seek an indictment in the absence of probable cause, to fail promptly to release information that would exonerate a person under indictment, to intentionally or knowingly misstate or alter evidence, to attempt to influence or color a witness's testimony, to act to frustrate or impede a defendant's right to discovery, to offer or provide sexual activities to any government witness or potential witness, to leak or otherwise improperly disseminate information to any person during an investigation, or to engage in conduct that discredits DOJ; and (2) establish penalties for engaging in such conduct, including probation, demotion, dismissal, referral of ethical charges to the bar, loss of pension or other retirement benefits, suspension from employment, and referral of the allegations (if appropriate) to a grand jury for possible criminal prosecution. 
(Sec. 202) Sets forth procedures regarding written complaints of such conduct by a DOJ employee, investigation of such complaints by the Attorney General, and imposition of appropriate penalties. 
(Sec. 203) Establishes an independent Misconduct Review Board to review all determinations by the Attorney General with respect to such complaints and to investigate allegations made in statements that may be submitted to it with respect to complaints for which the Attorney General has made no determination or imposed no penalty.  Authorizes the Board to impose penalties established above.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Citizens Protection Act of 1998''.

SEC. 2. INTERPRETATION.

    It is the intent of this Act that the term ``employee'' shall be 
interpreted so as to include, but not be limited to, an attorney, 
investigator, special prosecutor, or other employee of the Department 
of Justice as well as an attorney, investigator, accountant, or a 
special prosecutor acting under the authority of the Department of 
Justice.

           TITLE I--ETHICAL STANDARDS FOR FEDERAL PROSECUTORS

SEC. 101. ETHICAL STANDARDS FOR FEDERAL PROSECUTORS.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 31 of title 28, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 530B. Ethical standards for attorneys for the Government
    ``(a) An attorney for the Government shall be subject to State laws 
and rules, and local Federal court rules, governing attorneys in each 
State where such attorney engages in that attorney's duties, to the 
same extent and in the same manner as other attorneys in that State.
    ``(b) The Attorney General shall make and amend rules of the 
Department of Justice to assure compliance with this section.
    ``(c) As used in this section, the term `attorney for the 
Government' includes any attorney described in section 77.2(a) of part 
77 of title 28 of the Code of Federal Regulations.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
such chapter is amended by adding at the end the following new item:

``530B. Ethical standards for attorneys for the Government.''.

                      TITLE II--PUNISHABLE CONDUCT

SEC. 201. PUNISHABLE CONDUCT.

    (a) Violations.--The Attorney General shall establish, by plain 
rule, that it shall be punishable conduct for any Department of Justice 
employee to--
            (1) in the absence of probable cause seek the indictment of 
        any person;
            (2) fail promptly to release information that would 
        exonerate a person under indictment;
            (3) intentionally mislead a court as to the guilt of any 
        person;
            (4) intentionally or knowingly misstate evidence;
            (5) intentionally or knowingly alter evidence;
            (6) attempt to influence or color a witness' testimony;
            (7) act to frustrate or impede a defendant's right to 
        discovery;
            (8) offer or provide sexual activities to any government 
        witness or potential witness;
            (9) leak or otherwise improperly disseminate information to 
        any person during an investigation; or
            (10) engage in conduct that discredits the Department.
    (b) Penalties.--The Attorney General shall establish penalties for 
engaging in conduct described in subsection (a) that shall include--
            (1) probation;
            (2) demotion;
            (3) dismissal;
            (4) referral of ethical charges to the bar;
            (5) loss of pension or other retirement benefits;
            (6) suspension from employment; and
            (7) referral of the allegations, if appropriate, to a grand 
        jury for possible criminal prosecution.

SEC. 202. COMPLAINTS.

    (a) Written Statement.--A person who believes that an employee of 
the Department of Justice has engaged in conduct described in section 
201(a) may submit a written statement, in such form as the Attorney 
General may require, describing the alleged conduct.
    (b) Preliminary Investigation.--Not later than 30 days after 
receipt of a written statement submitted under subsection (a), the 
Attorney General shall conduct a preliminary investigation and 
determine whether the allegations contained in such written statement 
warrant further investigation.
    (c) Investigation and Penalty.--If the Attorney General determines 
after conducting a preliminary investigation under subsection (a) that 
further investigation is warranted, the Attorney General shall within 
90 days further investigate the allegations and, if the Attorney 
General determines that a preponderance of the evidence supports the 
allegations, impose an appropriate penalty.

SEC. 203. MISCONDUCT REVIEW BOARD.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established as an independent 
establishment a board to be known as the ``Misconduct Review Board'' 
(hereinafter in this Act referred to as the ``Board'').
    (b) Membership.--The Board shall consist of--
            (1) three voting members appointed by the President, one of 
        whom the President shall designate as Chairperson;
            (2) two non-voting members appointed by the Speaker of the 
        House of Representatives, one of whom shall be a Republican and 
        one of whom shall be a Democrat; and
            (3) two non-voting members appointed by the Majority Leader 
        of the Senate, one of whom shall be a Republican and one of 
        whom shall be a Democrat.
    (c) Non-Voting Members Serve Advisory Role Only.--The non-voting 
members shall serve on the Board in an advisory capacity only and shall 
not take part in any decisions of the Board.
    (d) Submission of Written Statement to Board.--If the Attorney 
General makes no determination pursuant to section 202(b) or imposes no 
penalty under section 202(c), a person who submitted a written 
statement under section 202(a) may submit such written statement to the 
Board.
    (e) Review of Attorney General Determination.--The Board shall 
review all determinations made by the Attorney General under sections 
202(b) or 202(c).
    (f) Board Investigation.--In reviewing a determination with respect 
to a written statement under subsection (e), or a written statement 
submitted under subsection (d), the Board may investigate the 
allegations made in the written statement as the Board considers 
appropriate.
    (g) Subpoena Power.--
            (1) In general.--The Commission may issue subpoenas 
        requiring the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the 
        production of any evidence relating to any matter under 
        investigation by the Commission. The attendance of witnesses 
        and the production of evidence may be required from any place 
        within the United States.
            (2) Failure to obey a subpoena.--If a person refuses to 
        obey a subpoena issued under paragraph (1), the Commission may 
        apply to a United States district court for an order requiring 
        that person to appear before the Commission to give testimony, 
        produce evidence, or both, relating to the matter under 
        investigation. The application may be made within the judicial 
        district where the hearing is conducted or where that person is 
        found, resides, or transacts business. Any failure to obey the 
        order of the court may be punished by the court as civil 
        contempt.
            (3) Service of subpoenas.--The subpoenas of the Commission 
        shall be served in the manner provided for subpoenas issued by 
        a United States district court under the Federal Rules of Civil 
        Procedure for the United States district courts.
            (4) Service of process.--All process of any court to which 
        application is made under paragraph (2) may be served in the 
        judicial district in which the person required to be served 
        resides or may be found.
    (h) Meetings.--The Board shall meet at the call of the Chairperson 
or a majority of its voting members. All meetings shall be open to the 
public. The Board is authorized to sit where the Board considers most 
convenient given the facts of a particular complaint, but shall give 
due consideration to conducting its activities in the judicial district 
where the complainant resides.
    (i) Decisions.--Decisions of the Board shall be made by majority 
vote of the voting members.
    (j) Authority To Impose Penalty.--After conducting such independent 
review and investigation as it deems appropriate, the Board by a 
majority vote of its voting members may impose a penalty, including 
dismissal, as provided in section 201(b) as it considers appropriate.
    (k) Compensation.--
            (1) Prohibition of compensation of federal employees.--
        Members of the Board who are full-time officers or employees of 
        the United States, including Members of Congress, may not 
        receive additional pay, allowances, or benefits by reason of 
        their service on the Board.
            (2) Travel expenses.--Each member shall receive travel 
        expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, in 
        accordance with sections 5702 and 5703 of title 5, United 
        States Code.
    (l) Experts and Consultants.--The Board may procure temporary and 
intermittent services under section 3109(b) of title 5, United States 
Code, but at rates for individuals not to exceed $200 per day.
    (m) Staff of Federal Agencies.--Upon request of the Chairperson, 
the head of any Federal department or agency may detail, on a 
reimbursable basis, any of the personnel of that department or agency 
to the Board to assist it in carrying out its duties under this Act.
    (n) Obtaining Official Data.--The Board may secure directly from 
any department or agency of the United States information necessary to 
enable it to carry out this Act. Upon request of the Chairperson of the 
Board, the head of that department or agency shall furnish that 
information to the Board.
    (o) Mails.--The Board may use the United States mails in the same 
manner and under the same conditions as other departments and agencies 
of the United States.
    (p) Administrative Support Services.--Upon the request of the 
Board, the Administrator of General Services shall provide to the 
Board, on a reimbursable basis, the administrative support services 
necessary for the Board to carry out its responsibilities under this 
Act.
    (q) Contract Authority.--The Board may contract with and compensate 
government and private agencies or persons for services, without regard 
to section 3709 of the Revised Statutes (41 U.S.C. 5).
    [(  ) Subpoena Power.--
            (1) In general.--The Commission may issue subpoenas 
        requiring the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the 
        production of any evidence relating to any matter [under 
        investigation by the Commission] [which the Commission is 
        empowered to investigate by section ]. The attendance of 
        witnesses and the production of evidence may be required from 
        any place within [the United States] [a State] [a judicial 
        district] at any designated place of hearing within the [United 
        States] [that State] [that judicial district].
            (2) Failure to obey a subpoena.--If a person refuses to 
        obey a subpoena issued under paragraph (1), the Commission may 
        apply to a United States district court for an order requiring 
        that person to appear before the Commission to give testimony, 
        produce evidence, or both, relating to the matter under 
        investigation. The application may be made within the judicial 
        district where the hearing is conducted or where that person is 
        found, resides, or transacts business. Any failure to obey the 
        order of the court may be punished by the court as civil 
        contempt.
            (3) Service of subpoenas.--The subpoenas of the Commission 
        shall be served in the manner provided for subpoenas issued by 
        a United States district court under the Federal Rules of Civil 
        Procedure for the United States district courts.
            (4) Service of process.--All process of any court to which 
        application is made under paragraph (2) may be served in the 
        judicial district in which the person required to be served 
        resides or may be found.]