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S. 1735 (115th): Special Counsel Independence Protection Act

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The text of the bill below is as of Aug 3, 2017 (Introduced). The bill was not enacted into law.

Summary of this bill

Could President Trump fire the man leading the investigation into his campaign’s ties to — and possible collusion with — Russia?

Two new Republican bills, the Special Counsel Independence Protection Actand the Special Counsel Integrity Act, would make such a firing much more difficult, if not impossible.

Context

Trump and his legal advisers are said to be considering firing Robert Mueller, who’s leading the special counsel investigation, according to a recent Washington Post report.

While Trump certainly expressed no qualms in May about firing FBI Director James Comey, who was previously leading the FBI’s Russia investigation, the FBI director serves at the pleasure of the president. Indeed, …

II

115th CONGRESS

1st Session

S. 1735

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

August 3, 2017

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

A BILL

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

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Special Counsel Independence Protection Act.

2.

Limitation on removal of special counsel

(a)

In general

A special counsel appointed by the Attorney General, or any other official appointed by the Attorney General who exercises a similar degree of independence from the normal Department of Justice chain of command, may only be removed if the Attorney General files an action in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia and files a contemporaneous notice of the action with the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives.

(b)

Requirement

Any action filed under subsection (a) shall be heard and determined by a court of 3 judges in accordance with the provisions of section 2284 of title 28, United States Code, and any appeal shall lie to the Supreme Court.

(c)

Removal for cause

A special counsel or other appointed official described in subsection (a) may be removed only after the court has issued an order finding misconduct, dereliction of duty, incapacity, conflict of interest, or other good cause, including violation of policies of the Department of Justice.