II 

Calendar No. 393 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2644 

To ensure independent investigations and judicial review of the removal of 

a special counsel, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 11, 2018 

Mr. GRAHAM (for himself, Mr. COONS, Mr. TILLIS, and Mr. BOOKER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

APRIL 26, 2018 

Reported by Mr. GRASSLEY, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To ensure independent investigations and judicial review of 

the removal of a special counsel, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Special Counsel Inde5 pendence and Integrity Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. LIMITATION ON REMOVAL OF SPECIAL COUNSEL. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—A special counsel appointed by the 

3 Attorney General, or any other official appointed by the 

4 Attorney General who exercises a similar degree of inde5 pendence from the normal Department of Justice chain 

6 of command, may be removed from office only by the per7 sonal action of an Attorney General who has been con8 firmed by the Senate, or, if the Attorney General is 

9 recused from the matter, the most senior Department of 

10 Justice official who has been confirmed by the Senate and 

11 is not recused from the matter. 

12 (b) REMOVAL FOR CAUSE.—A special counsel or 

13 other appointed official described in subsection (a) may 

14 be removed only for misconduct, dereliction of duty, inca15 pacity, conflict of interest, or other good cause, including 

16 violation of policies of the Department of Justice. 

17 (c) NOTICE OF REMOVAL.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General or 

19 other Department of Justice official described in 

20 subsection (a), as the case may be, shall provide 

21 written notice to the special counsel or other ap22 pointed official described in subsection (a) of the 

23 specific reason or reasons for the removal. 

24 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE OF REMOVAL.—Except as 

25 provided in subsection (e), removal under this sec26 tion shall become effective on the date that is 10 


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1 days after the date on which the written notice was 

2 provided under paragraph (1). 

3 (d) TIMING.—Not later than 10 days after the date 

4 on which written notice was provided under subsection 

5 (c)(1), the special counsel or other appointed official de6 scribed in subsection (a), as the case may be, may file 

7 an action challenging the removal in accordance with sub8 section (e). 

9 (e) REVIEW.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—An individual that received 

11 written notice under subsection (c)(1) may file an 

12 action in accordance with paragraph (2) that the re13 moval was in violation of this Act. 

14 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—Any action filed under 

15 this subsection shall be heard and determined by a 

16 court of 3 judges not later than 14 days after the 

17 date on which the action is filed in accordance with 

18 the provisions of section 2284 of title 28, United 

19 States Code, and any appeal shall lie to the Supreme 

20 Court. 

21 (3) RELIEF.—If a court determines that the re22 moval of the individual who filed an action under 

23 this subsection violates this Act, the removal shall 

24 not take effect. The court may also provide other ap25 propriate relief. 


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1 (4) STATUS DURING PROCEEDINGS.— 

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—At the request of the 

3 individual who filed an action under this sub4 section, the court shall determine whether the 

5 individual shall remain in office during the 

6 pendency of the action described in paragraph 

7 (2). 

8 (B) PRESERVATION OF MATERIALS.—Dur9 ing the pendency of an action filed under this 

10 subsection, the staff, documents, and materials 

11 of the special counsel or other appointed official 

12 described in subsection (a) shall be preserved. 

13 (C) LIMITATION.—During the pendency of 

14 an action filed under this subsection, a replace15 ment for the special counsel or other appointed 

16 official described in subsection (a) who is chal17 lenging the removal shall not be designated. 

18 (f) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This Act shall apply to any 

19 special counsel or other appointed official described in sub20 section (a) appointed on or after January 1, 2017. 

21 (g) SEVERABILITY.—If any provision of this Act or 

22 the application of such provision to any person or cir23 cumstance is held to be invalid or unconstitutional, the 

24 remainder of this Act and the application of the provisions 


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1 of this Act to any person or circumstance shall remain 

2 and shall not be affected thereby. 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Special Counsel Inde5 pendence and Integrity Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE SPECIAL COUNSEL. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part II of title 28, United States 

8 Code, is amended by inserting after chapter 40A the fol9 lowing: 

10 ‘‘CHAPTER 40B—SPECIAL COUNSEL 

‘‘Sec. 

‘‘599K–1. Grounds for appointing a Special Counsel. 

‘‘599K–2. Alternatives available to the Attorney General. 

‘‘599K–3. Qualifications of the Special Counsel. 

‘‘599K–4. Jurisdiction. 

‘‘599K–5. Staff. 

‘‘599K–6. Powers and authority. 

‘‘599K–7. Conduct and accountability generally. 

‘‘599K–8. Limitation on removal of Special Counsel and certain other officials. 

‘‘599K–9. Notification and reports by the Special Counsel. 

‘‘599K–10. Notification and reports by the Attorney General. 

‘‘599K–11. No creation of rights. 

11 ‘‘§ 599K–1. Grounds for appointing a Special Counsel 

12 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall ap13 point a Special Counsel if the Attorney General determines 

14 that— 

15 ‘‘(1) criminal investigation of a person or matter 

16 is warranted; 

17 ‘‘(2) investigation or prosecution of the person or 

18 matter described in paragraph (1) by the office of a 

19 United States attorney or litigating Division of the 


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1 Department of Justice (in this chapter referred to as 

2 the ‘Department’) would present a conflict of interest 

3 for the Department or other extraordinary cir4 cumstances; and 

5 ‘‘(3) under the circumstances, it would be in the 

6 public interest to appoint an outside Special Counsel 

7 to assume responsibility for the matter. 

8 ‘‘(b) RECUSAL.—The Attorney General who has been 

9 confirmed to that position by the Senate or, in the case of 

10 the vacancy, absence, disability, or recusal of the Attorney 

11 General, the most senior Senate-confirmed officer of the De12 partment listed in section 508 who is not recused from the 

13 matter shall exercise the authority under this chapter. 

14 ‘‘§ 599K–2. Alternatives available to the Attorney Gen15 eral 

16 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—When matters are brought to the 

17 attention of the Attorney General that might warrant con18 sideration of appointment of a Special Counsel, the Attor19 ney General may— 

20 ‘‘(1) appoint a Special Counsel in accordance 

21 with this chapter; 

22 ‘‘(2) direct that an initial investigation, con23 sisting of such factual inquiry or legal research as the 

24 Attorney General determines appropriate, be con25 ducted in order to better inform the decision; or 


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1 ‘‘(3) conclude that under the circumstances of the 

2 matter, the public interest would not be served by re3 moving the investigation from the normal processes of 

4 the Department, and that the appropriate component 

5 of the Department should handle the matter. 

6 ‘‘(b) ADDITIONAL DIRECTION.—If the Attorney Gen7 eral reaches a conclusion described in subsection (a)(3), the 

8 Attorney General may direct that appropriate steps be 

9 taken to mitigate any conflicts of interest, such as recusal 

10 of particular officials. 

11 ‘‘§ 599K–3. Qualifications of the Special Counsel 

12 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—An individual named as Special 

13 Counsel under this chapter shall be— 

14 ‘‘(1) a lawyer with a reputation for integrity 

15 and impartial decisionmaking, and with appropriate 

16 experience to ensure both that the investigation will 

17 be conducted ably, expeditiously, and thoroughly, and 

18 that investigative and prosecutorial decisions will be 

19 supported by an informed understanding of the crimi20 nal law and Department policies; and 

21 ‘‘(2) selected from outside the United States Gov22 ernment. 

23 ‘‘(b) PRIORITY OF INVESTIGATION.—An individual 

24 named as Special Counsel under this chapter shall agree 

25 that the responsibilities of the individual as Special Counsel 


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1 shall take first precedence in the professional life of the indi2 vidual, and that it may be necessary to work full time on 

3 the investigation, depending on the complexity of the inves4 tigation and the stage of the investigation. 

5 ‘‘(c) APPOINTMENT METHOD.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall 

7 consult with the Assistant Attorney General for Ad8 ministration to ensure an appropriate method of ap9 pointment, and to ensure that a Special Counsel un10 dergoes an appropriate background investigation and 

11 a detailed review of ethics and conflicts of interest 

12 issues. 

13 ‘‘(2) CONFIDENTIAL EMPLOYEE.—A Special 

14 Counsel shall be appointed as a confidential em15 ployee, as described in section 7511(b)(2)(C) of title 

16 5. 

17 ‘‘§ 599K–4. Jurisdiction 

18 ‘‘(a) ORIGINAL JURISDICTION.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The jurisdiction of a Special 

20 Counsel appointed under this chapter shall be estab21 lished by the Attorney General, and shall include the 

22 authority to investigate and prosecute Federal crimes 

23 committed in the course of, and with intent to inter24 fere with, the Special Counsel’s investigation, such as 

25 perjury, obstruction of justice, destruction of evidence, 


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1 and intimidation of witnesses, and to conduct appeals 

2 arising out of the matter being investigated or pros3 ecuted. 

4 ‘‘(2) STATEMENT OF THE MATTER TO BE INVES5 TIGATED.—The Special Counsel shall be provided 

6 with a specific factual statement of the matter to be 

7 investigated. 

8 ‘‘(b) ADDITIONAL JURISDICTION.—If in the course of 

9 the investigation by a Special Counsel appointed under this 

10 chapter, the Special Counsel concludes that additional ju11 risdiction beyond that specified in the original jurisdiction 

12 is necessary in order to fully investigate and resolve the 

13 matters assigned, or to investigate new matters that come 

14 to light in the course of the investigation, the Special Coun15 sel shall consult with the Attorney General, who shall deter16 mine whether to include the additional matters within the 

17 jurisdiction of the Special Counsel or assign them elsewhere. 

18 ‘‘(c) CIVIL AND ADMINISTRATIVE JURISDICTION.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If in the course of an inves20 tigation by a Special Counsel appointed under this 

21 chapter, the Special Counsel determines that adminis22 trative remedies, civil sanctions, or other govern23 mental action outside the criminal justice system 

24 might be appropriate, the Special Counsel shall conVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:30 Apr 26, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S2644.RS S2644

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1 sult with the Attorney General with respect to the ap2 propriate component to take any necessary action. 

3 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—A Special Counsel appointed 

4 under this chapter shall not have civil or administra5 tive authority unless specifically granted such juris6 diction by the Attorney General. 

7 ‘‘§ 599K–5. Staff 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A Special Counsel appointed 

9 under this chapter may request the assignment of appro10 priate personnel of the Department to assist the Special 

11 Counsel. The Department shall gather and provide the Spe12 cial Counsel with the names and resumes of appropriate 

13 personnel available for detail. The Special Counsel may also 

14 request the detail of specific personnel, and the office for 

15 which the designated personnel work shall make reasonable 

16 efforts to accommodate the request. 

17 ‘‘(b) ASSIGNMENT OF DUTIES.—A Special Counsel ap18 pointed under this chapter shall assign the duties and su19 pervise the work of personnel while they are assigned to the 

20 Special Counsel. 

21 ‘‘(c) HIRING OF ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL.—If nec22 essary, a Special Counsel appointed under this chapter may 

23 request that additional personnel be hired or assigned from 

24 outside the Department. 


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1 ‘‘(d) COOPERATION.—All personnel in the Department 

2 shall cooperate to the fullest extent possible with a Special 

3 Counsel appointed under this chapter. 

4 ‘‘§ 599K–6. Powers and authority 

5 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the limitations of this 

6 chapter, a Special Counsel appointed under this chapter 

7 shall exercise, within the scope of the jurisdiction of the Spe8 cial Counsel, the full power and independent authority to 

9 exercise all investigative and prosecutorial functions of any 

10 United States attorney. 

11 ‘‘(b) SPECIAL COUNSEL DISCRETION.—Except as oth12 erwise provided in this chapter, a Special Counsel ap13 pointed under this chapter shall determine whether and to 

14 what extent to inform or consult with the Attorney General 

15 or others within the Department about the conduct of the 

16 duties and responsibilities of the Special Counsel. 

17 ‘‘§ 599K–7. Conduct and accountability generally 

18 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A Special Counsel appointed 

19 under this chapter shall— 

20 ‘‘(1) comply with the rules, regulations, proce21 dures, practices, and policies of the Department; and 

22 ‘‘(2) consult with appropriate offices within the 

23 Department for guidance with respect to established 

24 practices, policies, and procedures of the Department, 


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1 including ethics and security regulations and proce2 dures. 

3 ‘‘(b) EXTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCES.—If a Special 

4 Counsel appointed under this chapter determines that the 

5 extraordinary circumstances of any particular decision 

6 would render compliance with required review and ap7 proval procedures by the designated departmental compo8 nent inappropriate, the Special Counsel may consult di9 rectly with the Attorney General. 

10 ‘‘(c) LIMITATION ON SUPERVISION.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A Special Counsel appointed 

12 under this chapter shall not be subject to the day-to13 day supervision of any official of the Department, ex14 cept that the Attorney General may request that the 

15 Special Counsel provide an explanation for any in16 vestigative or prosecutorial step, and may after re17 view conclude that the action is so inappropriate or 

18 unwarranted under established practices of the De19 partment that it should not be pursued. 

20 ‘‘(2) REVIEW.—In conducting a review described 

21 in paragraph (1), the Attorney General shall give 

22 great weight to the views of the Special Counsel. If the 

23 Attorney General concludes that a proposed action by 

24 a Special Counsel should not be pursued, the Attorney 


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1 General shall notify Congress in accordance with sec2 tion 599K–10(a)(3). 

3 ‘‘(d) DISCIPLINARY ACTION FOR MISCONDUCT.—A 

4 Special Counsel appointed under this chapter, and any 

5 staff of the Special Counsel, shall be subject to disciplinary 

6 action for misconduct and breach of ethical duties under 

7 the same standards and to the same extent as are other em8 ployees of the Department. Inquiries into such matters shall 

9 be handled through the appropriate office of the Department 

10 upon the approval of the Attorney General. 

11 ‘‘§ 599K–8. Limitation on removal of Special Counsel 

12 and certain other officials 

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A Special Counsel appointed 

14 under this chapter, or any other official appointed by the 

15 Attorney General who exercises a similar degree of inde16 pendence from the normal chain of command of the Depart17 ment, may be removed from office only by the personal ac18 tion of an Attorney General who has been confirmed to that 

19 position by the Senate, or the most senior Senate-confirmed 

20 officer of the Department listed in section 508 who is not 

21 recused from the matter. 

22 ‘‘(b) REMOVAL FOR CAUSE.—A Special Counsel or 

23 other appointed official described in subsection (a) may be 

24 removed only for misconduct, dereliction of duty, incaVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:30 Apr 26, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S2644.RS S2644

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1 pacity, conflict of interest, or other good cause, including 

2 violation of policies of the Department. 

3 ‘‘(c) NOTICE OF REMOVAL.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General or 

5 other Department official described in subsection (a), 

6 as the case may be, shall provide written notice to the 

7 Special Counsel or other appointed official described 

8 in subsection (a) of the specific reason or reasons for 

9 the removal. 

10 ‘‘(2) EFFECTIVE DATE OF REMOVAL.—Except as 

11 provided in subsection (e), removal under this section 

12 shall become effective on the date that is 10 days after 

13 the date on which the written notice was provided 

14 under paragraph (1). 

15 ‘‘(d) TIMING.—Not later than 10 days after the date 

16 on which written notice was provided under subsection 

17 (c)(1), the Special Counsel or other appointed official de18 scribed in subsection (a), as the case may be, may file an 

19 action in the United States District Court for the District 

20 of Columbia challenging the removal in accordance with 

21 subsection (e). 

22 ‘‘(e) REVIEW.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An individual that received 

24 written notice under subsection (c)(1) may file an acVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:30 Apr 26, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S2644.RS S2644

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1 tion in accordance with paragraph (2) that the re2 moval was in violation of this chapter. 

3 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—Any action filed under 

4 this subsection shall be heard and determined by a 

5 court of 3 judges not later than 14 days after the date 

6 on which the action is filed in accordance with the 

7 provisions of section 2284, and an appeal of any 

8 final decision shall lie to the Supreme Court. 

9 ‘‘(3) RELIEF.—If a court determines that the re10 moval of the individual who filed an action under 

11 this subsection violates this chapter, the removal shall 

12 not take effect. The court may also provide other ap13 propriate relief. 

14 ‘‘(4) STATUS DURING PROCEEDINGS.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—At the request of the in16 dividual who filed an action under this sub17 section, the court shall determine whether the in18 dividual shall remain in office during the pend19 ency of the action described in paragraph (2). If 

20 an individual makes such a request, the court 

21 shall order that the effective date of the removal 

22 shall be stayed until the court rules on the re23 quest. 

24 ‘‘(B) PRESERVATION OF MATERIALS.—Dur25 ing the pendency of an action filed under this 


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1 subsection, the personnel, documents, and mate2 rials of the Special Counsel or other appointed 

3 official described in subsection (a) shall be pre4 served. 

5 ‘‘(C) LIMITATION.—During the pendency of 

6 an action filed under this subsection, a replace7 ment for the Special Counsel or other appointed 

8 official described in subsection (a) who is chal9 lenging the removal shall not be designated. 

10 ‘‘§ 599K–9. Notification and reports by the Special 

11 Counsel 

12 ‘‘(a) BUDGET.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A Special Counsel appointed 

14 under this chapter shall be provided all appropriate 

15 resources by the Department. 

16 ‘‘(2) PROPOSED BUDGET.—Not later than 60 

17 days after the date on which a Special Counsel is ap18 pointed under this chapter, the Special Counsel shall 

19 develop a proposed budget for the current fiscal year 

20 with the assistance of the Justice Management Divi21 sion for review and approval by the Attorney General. 

22 ‘‘(3) ESTABLISHMENT OF BUDGET.—Based on a 

23 proposal developed under paragraph (2), the Attorney 

24 General shall establish a budget for the operations of 

25 the Special Counsel, which shall include a request for 


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1 assignment of personnel, with a description of the 

2 qualifications needed. 

3 ‘‘(4) ADDITIONAL BUDGET REQUESTS.—After a 

4 budget has been established under paragraph (3), the 

5 Special Counsel shall, not later than 90 days before 

6 the beginning of each fiscal year, report to the Attor7 ney General the status of the investigation, and pro8 vide a budget request for the following fiscal year. The 

9 Attorney General shall determine whether the inves10 tigation should continue and, if so, establish the budg11 et for the next fiscal year. 

12 ‘‘(b) NOTIFICATION OF SIGNIFICANT EVENTS.—A Spe13 cial Counsel appointed under this chapter shall notify the 

14 Attorney General of events in the course of the investigation 

15 by the Special Counsel in conformity with the guidelines 

16 of the Department with respect to Urgent Reports. 

17 ‘‘(c) CLOSING DOCUMENTATION.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—At the conclusion of the work 

19 of a Special Counsel appointed under this chapter, 

20 the Special Counsel shall submit to the Attorney Gen21 eral, the Chairman and Ranking Minority Member of 

22 the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate, and the 

23 Chairman and Ranking Minority Member of the 

24 Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Rep25 resentatives a report detailing the factual findings of 


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1 the investigation and explaining the prosecution or 

2 declination decisions reached by the Special Counsel. 

3 If the Attorney General granted or denied a request 

4 from the Special Counsel to change the Special Coun5 sel’s jurisdiction under section 599K–4(b), that infor6 mation shall be included. 

7 ‘‘(2) INFORMATION REQUIRED.—The report sub8 mitted under paragraph (1) shall include information 

9 regarding significant prosecutorial decisions and sig10 nificant expenditures by the Office of the Special 

11 Counsel. 

12 ‘‘§ 599K–10. Notification and reports by the Attorney 

13 General 

14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—If the Attorney General appoints 

15 a Special Counsel under this chapter, the Attorney General 

16 shall submit to the Chairman and Ranking Minority Mem17 ber of the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and 

18 the Chairman and Ranking Minority Member of the Com19 mittee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives a 

20 written notification, with a report explaining— 

21 ‘‘(1) the appointment of the Special Counsel; 

22 ‘‘(2) the intent of the Attorney General to remove 

23 the Special Counsel; and 

24 ‘‘(3) after the conclusion of the investigation of 

25 the Special Counsel, to the extent consistent with apVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:30 Apr 26, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S2644.RS S2644

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1 plicable law, any instance in which the Attorney Gen2 eral concluded that a proposed action by a Special 

3 Counsel was so inappropriate or unwarranted under 

4 established Departmental practices that it should not 

5 be pursued. 

6 ‘‘(b) NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT.—A notification and 

7 report under subsection (a)(1) shall— 

8 ‘‘(1) be submitted on the date on which the Spe9 cial Counsel is appointed; and 

10 ‘‘(2) include— 

11 ‘‘(A) the factual basis necessitating the ap12 pointment of the Special Counsel, including a 

13 description of any effort made before appointing 

14 the Special Counsel to mitigate potential con15 flicts of interests of relevant individuals or with16 in relevant components; and 

17 ‘‘(B) a specific factual statement of the mat18 ter to be investigated. 

19 ‘‘(c) NOTICE OF REMOVAL.—A notification and report 

20 under subsection (a)(2) shall— 

21 ‘‘(1) be submitted not later than 30 days before 

22 the date on which notice is provided to the Special 

23 Counsel under section 599K–8(c)(1); and 

24 ‘‘(2) include the reasons for the removal. 


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1 ‘‘§ 599K–11. No creation of rights 

2 ‘‘Except as provided in section 599K–8, this chapter 

3 shall not be construed to create any rights, substantive or 

4 procedural, enforceable at law or equity, by any person or 

5 entity, in any matter, civil, criminal, or administrative.’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CHAPTERS.—The table of chapters for 

7 part II of title 28, United States Code, is amended by in8 serting after the item relating to chapter 40A the following: 

‘‘40B. Special Counsel ........................................................................... 599K–1’’. 

9 (c) APPLICATION TO EXISTING SPECIAL COUNSEL.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of applying 

11 chapter 40B of title 28, United States Code, as added 

12 by this Act, to a Special Counsel who is subject to 

13 any provision of part 600 of title 28, Code of Federal 

14 Regulations, and who is serving as a Special Counsel 

15 on the date of enactment of this Act— 

16 (A) in addition to the authority under 

17 which the Special Counsel was originally ap18 pointed, the Special Counsel shall be deemed to 

19 be a Special Counsel appointed under such chap20 ter 40B; and 

21 (B) such chapter 40B shall apply for pur22 poses of any action described in such chapter 

23 40B by or with respect to the Special Counsel 

24 taken on after the date of enactment of this Act 


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1 (including removing the Special Counsel from of2 fice). 

3 (2) REMOVAL BEFORE ENACTMENT.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—Section 599K–8 of title 

5 28, United States Code, as added by this Act, 

6 shall apply with respect to an individual who 

7 was— 

8 (i) appointed as a Special Counsel 

9 after January 1, 2017; 

10 (ii) subject to any provision of part 

11 600 of title 28, Code of Federal Regulations; 

12 and 

13 (iii) removed from office before the date 

14 of enactment of this Act. 

15 (B) IMPLEMENTATION.—If there is a Spe16 cial Counsel who is described in subparagraph 

17 (A)— 

18 (i) not later than 10 days after the 

19 date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney 

20 General shall provide written notice relat21 ing to the removal— 

22 (I) to the Special Counsel, that 

23 provides the information required 

24 under section 599K–8(c)(1) of title 28, 


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1 United States Code, as added by this 

2 Act; and 

3 (II) to the Chairman and Rank4 ing Minority Member of the Committee 

5 on the Judiciary of the Senate and the 

6 Chairman and Ranking Minority 

7 Member of the Committee on the Judi8 ciary of the House of Representatives, 

9 that provides the information required 

10 under section 599K–10(c)(2) of such 

11 title; 

12 (ii) not later than 10 days after the 

13 date on which written notice is provided 

14 under clause (i)(I), the Special Counsel 

15 may file an action challenging the removal 

16 in accordance with section 599K–8(e) of 

17 such title; 

18 (iii) in an action filed under clause 

19 (ii), the court shall determine whether the 

20 removal of the Special Counsel meets the re21 quirements for removal under subsections 

22 (a), (b), and (c)(1) of section 599K–8 of 

23 such title; and 

24 (iv) if a court determines that the re25 moval of the individual who filed an action 


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1 under clause (ii) violates a requirement de2 scribed in clause (iii), the court may order 

3 reinstatement or provide other appropriate 

4 relief. 

5 (d) SEVERABILITY.—If any provision of this Act, or 

6 an amendment made by this Act, or the application of such 

7 provision or amendment to any person or circumstance is 

8 held to be invalid or unconstitutional, the remainder of this 

9 Act, and the amendments made by this Act, and the appli10 cation of such provisions and amendments to any person 

11 or circumstance shall remain and shall not be affected there12 by. 


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Calendar No. 393 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2644 

A BILL 

To ensure independent investigations and judicial 

for other purposes. review of the removal of a special counsel, and 

APRIL 26, 2018 

Reported with an amendment 


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