can the attorney general fire all federalattornies that were there when he was appointed

by Prof. Isabel Jast DDS 6 min read

Can a president fire an attorney general?

May 10, 2020 · There is a general principle that the President can only remove those officers he appoints. A person appointed by the Attorney General …

Who has the authority to fire political appointees at the DOJ?

Mar 10, 2017 · Current U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions was one of those fired by Clinton. He was serving as the U.S. Attorney in Alabama at the time. But many new presidents choose to gradually phase out holdover prosecutors. Obama kept on Rod Rosenstein, the U.S. Attorney for Maryland appointed by President George W. Bush.

Does Trump have the authority to fire Attorney General Berman?

Mar 12, 2017 · That is more than twice as many as Trump attorney general Jeff Sessions fired on Friday.Indeed, there were only 46 Obama-appointed U.S. attorneys left for Sessions to relieve because Obama ...

Who fired all US Attorneys appointed by Obama?

Mar 14, 2007 · Ronald Reagan replaced every sitting U.S. Attorney when he appointed his first Attorney General. President Clinton, acting through me as Acting AG, did the same thing, even with few permanent ...

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Can the Attorney General fire US attorneys?

The President of the United States has the authority to appoint U.S. Attorneys, with the consent of the United States Senate, and the President may remove U.S. Attorneys from office. In the event of a vacancy, the United States Attorney General is authorized to appoint an interim U.S. Attorney.

What authority does the US attorney general have?

The Attorney General of the United States – appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate – heads the DOJ with its more than 100,000 attorneys, special agents, and other staff. It represents the United States in federal criminal and civil litigation, and provides legal advice to the President and Cabinet.

How is attorney general removed?

He can be removed by the President at any time. He can quit by submitting his resignation only to the President. Since he is appointed by the President on the advice of the Council of Ministers, conventionally he is removed when the council is dissolved or replaced.

How many US attorneys did Trump appoint?

This is a list of United States attorneys appointed by the 45th president of the United States, Donald Trump. President Trump nominated 86 people to be U.S. attorneys, and 84 of them were confirmed.

Can states pass laws that go against federal law?

The law that applies to situations where state and federal laws disagree is called the supremacy clause, which is part of article VI of the Constitution [source: FindLaw]. ... Basically, if a federal and state law contradict, then when you're in the state you can follow the state law, but the fed can decide to stop you.

Who reports to the U.S. attorney general?

President of the United StatesUnited States Attorney GeneralMember ofCabinet National Security CouncilReports toPresident of the United StatesSeatRobert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building Washington, D.C.AppointerPresident of the United States with United States Senate advice and consent13 more rows

Can Attorney General be appointed?

They are appointed by the President of India on the advice of the Union Cabinet under Article 76(1) of the Constitution and hold office during the pleasure of the President....Attorney-General for India.Attorney General for IndiaAppointerPresident of India on advice of the Union CabinetTerm lengthPer the President's discretion11 more rows

What is the Article 78?

Article 78 states that it shall be the duty of the Prime Minister: ... If the President so requires, to submit for the consideration of the Council of Ministers any matter on which a decision has been taken by a Minister but which has not been considered by the Council.

What is the Article 143?

Article 143 of the Constitution authorises the president to seek the opinion of the Supreme court in the two categories of matters: On any question of law or fact of public importance which has arisen or which is likely to arise.

Are US attorneys appointed for life?

Appointment. The U.S. attorney is appointed by the President of the United States for a term of four years, with appointments subject to confirmation by the Senate. A U.S. attorney continues in office, beyond the appointed term, until a successor is appointed and qualified.

Are US attorneys confirmed by the Senate?

Like these individuals, U.S. Attorneys are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate; like most federal judicial nominations, U.S. Attorneys are subject to the blue slip process in which home state senators of the president's party are able to recommend (or block) nominations to positions within their ...

How many US attorneys general are there?

In the order of creation, the position of attorney general was the fourth cabinet level position created by Congress, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Attorneys general may be impeached and removed from office by Congress. As of 2013 the office of U.S. Attorney General has been held by eighty two people.

Why are emails about the firing of attorneys lost?

White House spokesman Scott Stanzel stated that some of the emails that had involved official correspondence relating to the firing of attorneys may have been lost because they were conducted on Republican party accounts and not stored properly. "Some official e-mails have potentially been lost and that is a mistake the White House is aggressively working to correct." said Stanzel, a White House spokesman. Stonzel said that they could not rule out the possibility that some of the lost emails dealt with the firing of U.S. attorneys. For example, J. Scott Jennings, an aide to Karl Rove communicated with Justice Department officials "concerning the appointment of Tim Griffin, a former Rove aide, as U.S. attorney in Little Rock, according to e-mails released in March, 2007. For that exchange, Jennings, although working at the White House, used an e-mail account registered to the Republican National Committee, where Griffin had worked as a political opposition researcher."

Who replaced Sampson as Attorney General?

Sampson's replacement as the Attorney General's temporary chief of staff was U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Chuck Rosenberg. Rosenberg initiated a DOJ inquiry into possibly inappropriate political considerations in Monica Goodling's hiring practices for civil service staff. Civil service positions are not political appointments and must be made on a nonpartisan basis. In one example, Jeffrey A. Taylor, former interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, tried to hire a new career prosecutor, Seth Adam Meinero, in the fall of 2006. Goodling judged Meinero too "liberal" and declined to approve the hire. Meinero, a Howard University law school graduate who had worked on civil rights cases at the Environmental Protection Agency, was serving as a special assistant prosecutor in Taylor's office. Taylor went around Goodling, and demanded Sampson's approval to make the hire. In another example, Goodling removed an attorney from her job at the Department of Justice because she was rumored to be a lesbian, and, further, blocked the attorney from getting other Justice Department jobs she was qualified for. Rules concerning hiring at the Justice department forbid discrimination based on sexual orientation.

Why was Kevin Ryan fired?

Kevin Ryan (R) Though described as "loyal to the Bush administration," he was allegedly fired for the possible controversy that negative job performance evaluations might cause if they were released. John McKay (R) Was given a positive job evaluation 7 months before he was fired.

Who resigned from the White House?

Officials who resigned. Alberto Gonzales, United States Attorney General, former White House Counsel. Kyle Sampson, Chief of Staff to the Attorney General. Michael A. Battle, Director of the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys. Michael Elston, Chief of Staff to the Deputy Attorney General.

Who can appoint an attorney?

The President of the United States has the authority to appoint U.S. Attorneys, with the consent of the United States Senate, and the President may remove U.S. Attorneys from office. In the event of a vacancy, the United States Attorney General is authorized to appoint an interim U.S. Attorney. Before March 9, 2006, such interim appointments expired after 120 days, if a Presidential appointment had not been approved by the Senate. Vacancies that persisted beyond 120 days were filled through interim appointments made by the Federal District Court for the district of the vacant office.

Who was the DOJ attorney general in 2006?

Attorney General Gonzales, in a confidential memorandum dated March 1, 2006, delegated authority to senior DOJ staff Monica Goodling and Kyle Sampson to hire and dismiss political appointees and some civil service positions.

Was the White House misled by the Department of Justice?

Members of Congress investigating the dismissals found that sworn testimony from Department of Justice officials appeared to be contradicted by internal Department memoranda and e-mail, and that possibly Congress was deliberately misled. The White House role in the dismissals remained unclear despite hours of testimony by Attorney General Gonzales and senior Department of Justice staff in congressional committee hearings.

How many federal prosecutors did Trump fire?

With no warning or fanfare, the Trump administration on Friday fired 46 federal prosecutors who had served in the Justice Department under President Barack Obama. (CN) – With no warning or fanfare, the Trump administration on Friday fired 46 federal prosecutors who had served in the Justice Department under President Barack Obama.

Who is the attorney for Manhattan?

And Trump had initially indicated that he would keep Preet Bharara, the U.S. attorney for Manhattan. According to media reports, Trump invited Bharara to a meeting at Trump Tower after the election. Bharara told reporters afterward that both Trump and Sessions had asked him to stay on the job.

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Overview

On December 7, 2006, the George W. Bush Administration's Department of Justice ordered the unprecedented midterm dismissal of seven United States attorneys. Congressional investigations focused on whether the Department of Justice and the White House were using the U.S. Attorney positions for political advantage. Allegations were that some of the attorneys were targeted for dismissal to impede investigations of Republicanpoliticians or that some were targeted for their …

Issues in brief

By tradition, all U.S. Attorneys are asked to resign at the start of a new administration. The new President may elect to keep or remove any U.S. Attorney. They are traditionally replaced collectively only at the start of a new White House administration. U.S. Attorneys hold a political office, in which the President nominates candidates to office and the Senate confirms, and consequently, they serve at the pleasure of the President. When a new President is from a differ…

Fallout

By April 2007, there was some speculation that the dismissal of the US attorneys might affect cases of public corruption and voter fraud. According to the National Law Journal,
Just the appearance of political influence in cases related to those firings, combined with the recent, unusual reversal of a federal public corruption convi…

Replacement of the U.S. Attorneys

On January 6, 2005, Colin Newman, an assistant in the White House counsels office, wrote to David Leitch stating, "Karl Rovestopped by to ask you (roughly quoting) 'how we planned to proceed regarding U.S. Attorneys, whether we were going to allow all to stay, request resignations from all and accept only some of them or selectively replace them, etc.'". The email was then forwarded to Kyle …

Reactions and congressional investigation

The initial reaction was from the senators of the affected states. In a letter to Gonzales on January 9, 2007, Senators Feinstein (D, California) and Leahy (D, Vermont; Chair of the Committee) of the Senate Judiciary Committee expressed concern that the confirmation process for U.S. attorneys would be bypassed, and on January 11, they, together with Senator Pryor (D, Arkansas), introduced legislation "to prevent circumvention of the Senate's constitutional prerogative to con…

Aftermath

White House spokesman Scott Stanzel stated that some of the emails that had involved official correspondence relating to the firing of attorneys may have been lost because they were conducted on Republican party accounts and not stored properly. "Some official e-mails have potentially been lost and that is a mistake the White House is aggressively working to correct." said Stanzel, a White House spokesman. Stonzel said that they could not rule out the possibility …

See also

• 2017 dismissal of U.S. attorneys
• List of federal political scandals in the United States
• Don Siegelman
• Cyril Wecht

Notes

1. ^ "Although Bush and President Bill Clinton each dismissed nearly all U.S. attorneys upon taking office, legal experts and former prosecutors say the firing of a large number of prosecutors in the middle of a term appears to be unprecedented and threatens the independence of prosecutors." Gonzales: 'Mistakes Were Made' The Washington Post, March 14, 2007
2. ^ Bowermaster, David (2007-05-09). "Charges may result from firings, say two former U.S. attorneys". The Seattle Times. …