Title: Special Counsel Transparency Act
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement

Summary:
Special Counsel Transparency Act
This bill establishes reporting requirements with respect to a special counsel appointed by the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Specifically, it requires a special counsel to submit a report, within 30 days, to DOJ and Congress (1) at the conclusion of an investigation; or (2) when the special counsel is removed from office, transferred within DOJ, or resigns before the completion of the investigation. The report must include the factual findings of the investigation and significant expenditures, explain prosecutorial decisions, and be made publicly available.
Additionally, a special counsel must submit periodic reports to DOJ and Congress on budgetary requirements and expenditures, personnel, and performance statistics.
Finally, the bill requires DOJ to notify Congress when a special counsel is removed or transferred.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 236 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 236

      To require a Special Counsel report, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 28, 2019

Mr. Blumenthal (for himself and Mr. Grassley) introduced the following 
    bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the 
                               Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
      To require a Special Counsel report, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Special Counsel Transparency Act''.

SEC. 2. REPORT.

    (a) In General.--A Special Counsel (as described in part 600 of 
title 28, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor thereto), or 
any other official appointed by the Attorney General who exercises 
duties commensurate with those of a Special Counsel and exercises a 
similar degree of independence from the normal chain of command of the 
Department, shall prepare a report as described in subsection (b) if--
            (1) the Special Counsel determines that he or she has 
        completed his or her investigation; or
            (2) the Special Counsel is removed from his or her office, 
        transferred to another location or position within the 
        Department of Justice, or resigns before the completion of the 
        investigation.
    (b) Requirements.--Not later than 30 days after the date on which 
an event described in paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (a) occurs, 
the Special Counsel shall submit to the Attorney General, the Chairman 
and Ranking Member of the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate, and 
the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Committee on the Judiciary of 
the House of Representatives a report that--
            (1) details the factual findings of the investigation, 
        including any underlying evidence;
            (2) explains the prosecution or declination decisions, if 
        any, reached by the Special Counsel; and
            (3) contains information regarding significant 
        prosecutorial decisions and significant expenditures by the 
        Office of the Special Counsel.
    (c) Additional Contents.--If, at any time during the course of an 
investigation conducted by a Special Counsel, the Special Counsel 
consulted with the Attorney General for the purpose of including 
additional jurisdiction beyond that specified in the original 
jurisdiction of the Special Counsel, information regarding such 
consultation shall be included in the report required under subsection 
(a), including whether the Attorney General determined to include the 
additional matters within the jurisdiction of the Special Counsel or 
assign the matters to a different investigator.
    (d) Classified Annex.--The report required under subsection (a) 
shall be submitted in unclassified form, and may include a classified 
annex if necessary.
    (e) Availability to the Public.--
            (1) In general.--The unclassified form of the report shall 
        be made available to the public, consistent with section 552a 
        of title 5, United States Code (commonly known as the ``Privacy 
        Act of 1974''), other Federal statutes, and the Federal Rules 
        of Procedure.
            (2) Written explanation.--If any information contained in 
        the report required under subsection (a) is determined to be 
        classified or is otherwise not made available to the public, 
        the Attorney General shall submit a written statement to 
        Congress that explains the reasons for such determination.
    (f) Removal or Transfer of Special Counsel.--If the Attorney 
General removes or transfers the Special Counsel, the Attorney General 
shall communicate to the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Committee 
on the Judiciary of the Senate, and the Chairman and Ranking Member of 
the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives the 
reasons for such removal or transfer in writing not later than 10 days 
after the date on which the Special Counsel submits the report required 
under subsection (a).
    (g) Compensation; Access to Materials.--For the purposes of 
completing the report required under subsection (a), the Special 
Counsel shall--
            (1) continue to receive a salary and shall be provided such 
        resources, including staff, as is necessary to complete such 
        report; and
            (2) have access to all materials of the investigation, 
        unless the access is otherwise restricted by law or court 
        order.
    (h) Additional Reports.--In addition to any report required under 
subsection (a) and not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 
of this Act or after the appointment of any Special Counsel who was not 
appointed as of the date of enactment of this Act, and every 180 days 
thereafter, the Special Counsel shall submit to the Attorney General, 
the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Committee on the Judiciary of 
the Senate, and the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Committee on the 
Judiciary of the House of Representatives a report on--
            (1) the budgetary requirements and expenditures of the 
        Office of Special Counsel;
            (2) the number and types of personnel, such as trial 
        attorneys, paralegals, and investigators, employed by or 
        assigned to the Office of the Special Counsel;
            (3) aggregate statistics on the performance of the Office 
        of the Special Counsel, such as the number of--
                    (A) persons charged;
                    (B) persons convicted; and
                    (C) search warrants sought; and
            (4) any other information the Special Counsel determines is 
        relevant to the nature and circumstances of the investigation 
        or the operations of the Office of the Special Counsel.

SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) Congress has an important responsibility under the 
        Constitution of the United States to conduct oversight of the 
        executive branch, including the Department of Justice;
            (2) if a Special Counsel determines that he or she 
        possesses information that should be disclosed to Congress, as 
        part of the oversight role of Congress, the Special Counsel 
        should take all steps not prohibited by law in order to do so, 
        including information relating to--
                    (A) any decision of a Special Counsel to resign;
                    (B) any decision to remove a Special Counsel from 
                office, or transfer a Special Counsel to another 
                location or position within the Department of Justice; 
                or
                    (C) a determination by a Special Counsel that he or 
                she has become too circumscribed in jurisdiction or 
                authorization to effectively continue the investigation 
                to completion;
            (3) an investigation undertaken by a Special Counsel is, by 
        its nature, one of great political and civic importance;
            (4) the public has a substantial interest in receiving the 
        conclusions of the Special Counsel at the earliest possible 
        time; and
            (5) the Special Counsel should conclude the investigation 
        as soon as practicable and to report on his or her findings to 
        the people of the United States.
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