The panel is officially a division of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. The judges serve for two-year renewable terms. The panel currently is made up of Judge David Sentelle of the D.C. Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, Senior Judge John Decker Butzner, Jr., of the Fourth Circuit, and Senior Judge Peter Fay of the Eleventh Circuit. For more information on these judges check the Almanac of the Federal Judiciary, Volume 2, Ref KF8700.A19.A4 or The American Bench, Ref 8700.A19.A47. The independent counsel may be removed from office by impeachment or by the personal action of the Attorney General.
Any removal is subject to judicial review.
The independent counsel submits a final report to the three-judge panel. The court decides how much of the report to release. The independent counsel submits an annual report to Congress. Thus far there have been no referrals to the House under this provision. In 1988 The United States Supreme Court upheld various provisions of the act.