I 
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 Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Trusted, Reliable, Un-
questioned Method of Procedure for Special Counsel Ap-
pointment, 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 ap-
point a Special Counsel when the Attorney General deter-
mines that— 
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(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 Of-
fice or litigating Division of the Department of Jus-
tice would present a conflict of interest for the De-
partment 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 en-
tities 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. 
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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 con-
sideration of appointment of a Special Counsel, the Attor-
ney General may— 
(1) appoint a Special Counsel; 
(2) direct that an initial investigation, con-
sisting of such factual inquiry or legal research as 
the Attorney General deems appropriate, be con-
ducted 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 proc-
esses 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 in-
terest, 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 expe-
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rience to ensure both that the investigation will be con-
ducted ably, expeditiously and thoroughly, and that inves-
tigative and prosecutorial decisions will be supported by 
an informed understanding of the criminal law and De-
partment of Justice policies. The Special Counsel shall be 
selected from outside the United States Government. Spe-
cial Counsels shall agree that their responsibilities as Spe-
cial Counsel shall take first precedence in their profes-
sional 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 IN-
VESTIGATION.—The Attorney General shall consult with 
the Assistant Attorney General for Administration to en-
sure an appropriate method of appointment, and to ensure 
that a Special Counsel undergoes an appropriate back-
ground investigation and a detailed review of ethics and 
conflicts of interest issues. A Special Counsel shall be ap-
pointed 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 Gen-
eral. The Attorney General shall provide to the Special 
Counsel a specific factual statement of the matter to be 
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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 aris-
ing out of any matter being investigated or prosecuted. 
(b) ADDITIONAL JURISDICTION.—If in the course of 
an investigation the Special Counsel concludes that addi-
tional jurisdiction beyond that specified in the original ju-
risdiction is necessary in order to fully investigate and re-
solve 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 mat-
ters 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 deter-
mines that administrative remedies, civil sanctions or 
other governmental action outside the criminal justice sys-
tem might be appropriate, the Special Counsel shall con-
sult with the Attorney General with respect to the appro-
priate component to take any necessary action. A Special 
Counsel shall not have civil or administrative authority un-
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less specifically granted such jurisdiction by the Attorney 
General. 
SEC. 6. STAFF. 
A Special Counsel may request the assignment of ap-
propriate Department employees to assist the Special 
Counsel. The Department shall gather and provide the 
Special Counsel with the names and re´sume´s of appro-
priate 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 Spe-
cial 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 out-
side the Department. All personnel in the Department 
shall cooperate to the fullest extent possible with the Spe-
cial 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 au-
thority to exercise all investigative and prosecutorial func-
tions of any United States Attorney. Except as provided 
in this part, the Special Counsel shall determine whether 
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and to what extent to inform or consult with the Attorney 
General or others within the Department about the con-
duct 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 appro-
priate offices within the Department for guidance with re-
spect 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 ap-
proval procedures by the designated Departmental compo-
nent inappropriate, the Special Counsel may consult di-
rectly 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 Spe-
cial Counsel provide an explanation for any investigative 
or prosecutorial step, and may after review conclude that 
the action is so inappropriate or unwarranted under estab-
lished Departmental practices that it should not be pur-
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sued. 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 Depart-
ment of Justice. Inquiries into such matters shall be han-
dled through the appropriate office of the Department 
upon the approval of the Attorney General. 
(d) DISCIPLINE AND REMOVAL.—The Special Coun-
sel 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 poli-
cies. The Attorney General shall inform the Special Coun-
sel in writing of the specific reason for the removal. 
SEC. 9. NOTIFICATION AND REPORTS BY THE SPECIAL 
COUNSEL. 
(a) BUDGET.— 
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(1) A Special Counsel shall be provided all ap-
propriate resources by the Department of Justice. 
Within the first 60 days of appointment, the Special 
Counsel shall develop a proposed budget for the cur-
rent fiscal year with the assistance of the Justice 
Management Division for the Attorney General’s re-
view and approval. Based on the proposal, the Attor-
ney General shall establish a budget for the oper-
ations of the Special Counsel. The budget shall in-
clude 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 pro-
vide the Attorney General with a confidential report ex-
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plaining 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 no-
tify 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 in-
vestigation, including, to the extent consistent with 
applicable law, a description and explanation of in-
stances (if any) in which the Attorney General con-
cluded that a proposed action by a Special Counsel 
was so inappropriate or unwarranted under estab-
lished Departmental practices that it should not be 
pursued. 
(b) DELAY OF NOTIFICATION.—The notification re-
quirement in subsection (a)(1) of this section may be 
tolled by the Attorney General upon a finding that legiti-
mate investigative or privacy concerns require confiden-
tiality. At such time as confidentiality is no longer needed, 
the notification shall be provided. 
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(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 mat-
ters 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 appro-
priated to carry out this Act $100,000,000 for each of 
the fiscal years 2020 through 2024. 
(b) AVAILABILITY.—Funds appropriated under sub-
section (a) shall remain available until expended. 
Æ 
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