how to fire the attorney general of the united states

by Mr. Jimmie Boehm 6 min read

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.

What does an attorney general do?

Paul Charlton was an assistant U.S. attorney from 1991 to 2001, and the U.S. attorney for the District of Arizona from 2001 to 2007. He is now an attorney in private practice.

Can a president fire a U.S. Attorney?

Mar 20, 2017 · American lawyer and former United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York President Donald Trump recently compelled 46 U.S. attorneys to resign, and to do so …

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

Aug 27, 2009 · Attorney General J. Howard McGrath, a former governor of and senator from Rhode Island, appointed Newbold Morris as a special assistant attorney general in the Justice …

Can the Attorney General be impeached?

Jan 31, 2017 · The U.S. attorney general is appointed by the President of the United States and serves at the pleasure of the President. The President has the power to fire the attorney …

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Can a US attorney general be impeached?

Attorneys General. While impeachment proceedings against cabinet secretaries is an exceedingly rare event, no office has provoked the ire of the House of Representatives than that of Attorney General. During the first fifth of the 21st century, no less than three Attorneys General have been subjected to the process.

Does the US attorney general report to the president?

The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all legal matters.
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United States Attorney General
Member ofCabinet National Security Council
Reports toPresident of the United States
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How long do US attorney generals serve?

four-year
Under the state Constitution, the Attorney General is elected to a four-year term in the same statewide election as the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Controller, Secretary of State, Treasurer, Superintendent of Public Instruction, and Insurance Commissioner.

What powers does the US attorney general have?

As the chief officer of the Department of Justice, the attorney general enforces federal laws, provides legal counsel in federal cases, interprets the laws that govern executive departments, heads federal jails and penal institutions, and examines alleged violations of federal laws.

Are U.S. Attorneys confirmed by the Senate?

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.

Who was the last US attorney general?

List of U.S. attorneys general
Attorney GeneralYears of service
Merrick Garland2021-Present
Jeff Sessions2017-2018
Loretta Lynch2015-2017
Eric Holder2009-2015
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Is AUSA a good job?

Assistant United States Attorneys (AUSAs) often say they have “the best job (for a lawyer) in the world.” AUSAs do important public interest work while exercising a degree of professional autonomy and responsibility unusual for relatively inexperienced lawyers.

Who is the current US Attorney General?

Image of Who is the current US Attorney General?
Merrick Brian Garland is an American lawyer and jurist serving as the 86th United States attorney general since March 2021. He served as a circuit judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit from 1997 to 2021.
Wikipedia

Who appointed Newbold Morris as the Attorney General?

Attorney General J. Howard McGrath, a former governor of and senator from Rhode Island, appointed Newbold Morris as a special assistant attorney general in the Justice Department to investigate corruption.

Who can determine if a prosecution would undermine national security?

The attorney general serves at the pleasure of the president, and the president can determine that a prosecution would undermine the national security—a subject on which he has a wider perspective and a greater responsibility than the attorney general—and order that it not go forward.

Can the President fire an attorney general?

It concluded that the president — but not the attorney general — could fire such an official. In a memorandum opinion, John M. Harmon, the head of the office at the time, cited the law that says presidents may fire U.S. attorneys.

Who was the prosecutor who refused to let the Attorney General fire him?

Barr invoked the president. Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States attorney for the Southern District of New York, arrived at his office in New York on Saturday hours after defying the attorney general’s attempt to fire him.

How long can a prosecutor serve?

attorneys following Senate confirmation, a law permits an attorney general to appoint a prosecutor to fill those vacancies for 120 days. If that temporary appointment expires, judges can fill it. A prosecutor appointed by the court will “serve until the vacancy is filled,” the statute says.

Who appointed Berman as Attorney General?

That is how Mr. Berman became U.S. attorney. He was initially appointed by the attorney general at the time, Jeff Sessions , and federal judges in Manhattan reappointed him after the 120-day period expired. In his statement Friday night, Mr. Berman indicated that Mr. Barr could not fire him because he had been appointed by the court, ...

Why did Barr not fire him?

Barr could not fire him because he had been appointed by the court, and declared he intended to remain in office until the Senate confirms a successor. However, another federal law says that U.S. attorneys may be removed by the president. On its face, it makes no exception ...

Is the Office of Legal Counsel a precedent?

Office of Legal Counsel opinions are generally considered to be binding interpretations of the law for Justice Department officials, but they are not legal precedent s in the sense of judicial opinions by appeals courts or the Supreme Court.

What court opinion said a president may remove a court appointed prosecutor?

The 1979 opinion pointed to one district court opinion from 1963 — also in Manhattan — which expressed the view that a president may remove a court-appointed prosecutor. In his letter, Mr. Barr also pointed to a 2000 opinion by the federal appeals court in Boston that took the same position in passing, saying that a “president may override ...

What did the change in the law do to the Attorney General?

The change in the law undermined the confirmation authority of the Senate and gave the Attorney General greater appointment powers than the President, since the President's U.S. Attorney appointees are required to be confirmed by the Senate and those of the Attorney General did not require confirmation.

What was the process used to fire the first seven attorneys and two others dismissed around the same time?

A subsequent report by the Justice Department Inspector General in October 2008 found that the process used to fire the first seven attorneys and two others dismissed around the same time was "arbitrary", "fundamentally flawed" and "raised doubts about the integrity of Department prosecution decisions".

Why were some of the attorneys targeted for dismissal?

Allegations were that some of the attorneys were targeted for dismissal to impede investigations of Republican politicians or that some were targeted for their failure to initiate investigations that would damage Democratic politicians or hamper Democratic-leaning voters.

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 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 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.

What was the Inspector General Report on the 2008 firings?

On September 29, 2008 the Justice Department's Inspector General (IG) released a report on the matter that found most of the firings were politically motivated and improper.

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