Special Counsel Integrity Act

Bill: 115-s-1741
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Tillis, Thomas [R-NC]
Introduced: 2017-08-03
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
Subjects: Congressional oversight

Criminal investigation, prosecution, interrogation

Department of Justice

Federal officials

Government ethics and transparency, public corruption

Judicial review and appeals

Supreme Court
Latest action: action_date: 2017-09-26
text: Committee on the Judiciary. Hearings held.

Summaries:
action_date: 2017-08-03
action_desc: Introduced in Senate
text: <p><b>Special Counsel Integrity Act</b></p> <p>This bill sets forth requirements and limitations with respect to the discipline or removal from office of a special counsel appointed under Department of Justice (DOJ) regulations. </p> <p>Specifically, a special counsel may be disciplined or removed only by the personal action of an Attorney General who has been confirmed by the Senate. If the Attorney General is recused from the matter, then a special counsel may be disciplined or removed by the most senior DOJ official who has been confirmed by the Senate and is not recused from the matter.</p> <p>A special counsel: (1) may only be removed for misconduct, dereliction of duty, incapacity, conflict of interest, or other good cause, including violation of DOJ policies; (2) must be informed in writing of the specific reason for the removal; and (3) may file an action for judicial review of the removal.</p>

tv_txt: II 115th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 1741 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES August 3, 2017 Mr. Tillis (for himself and Mr. Coons ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To ensure independent investigations by allowing judicial review of the removal of a special counsel, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Special Counsel Integrity Act . 2. Limitation on removal of special counsel (a) In general A special counsel appointed under Department of Justice regulations may be disciplined or removed from office only by the personal action of an Attorney General who has been confirmed by the Senate, or, if the Attorney General is recused from the matter, the most senior Department of Justice official who has been confirmed by the Senate and is not recused from the matter. (b) Cause for removal A special counsel appointed under Department of Justice regulations may only be removed for misconduct, dereliction of duty, incapacity, conflict of interest, or other good cause, including violation of policies of the Department of Justice. (c) Notice of removal The Attorney General, or other Department of Justice official described in subsection (a), as the case may be, shall inform the special counsel in writing of the specific reason for the removal. (d) Review (1) In general An individual removed under subsection (b) may file an action in accordance with paragraph (2) that the removal was in violation of this section. (2) Requirements An action filed under this subsection shall be heard and determined by a court of 3 judges not later than 14 days after the date on which the action is filed in accordance with the provisions of section 2284 of title 28, United States Code, and any appeal shall lie to the Supreme Court. (3) Reinstatement If a court determines that an individual was removed from a position in violation of this section, the individual shall be immediately reinstated to the position of special counsel. (e) Effective date This Act shall apply to any special counsel appointed on or after May 17, 2017.