who can remove or fire the attorney general from office

Can a president fire an attorney general?

Aug 27, 2009 · The president can fire the attorney general. O bama administration spokesmen are portraying the president as unable to overrule Attorney General Eric …

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

Response to Original message. 5. He can be impeached as he was appointed by the President. The office of Attorney General is considered a "civil officer of government"..appointed by the President, in a cabinet level office, and thereby subject to impeachment. ALL cabinet level positions of the executive are subject to impeachment.

Could an attorney general be removed just like a president?

May 01, 2019 · "No attorney general has ever been impeached," Michael Gerhardt, a constitutional law professor at the University of North Carolina, told Newsweek. "The process for impeaching an attorney general...

Why did the Justice Department Fire 7 attorneys at the same time?

Sep 15, 2016 · Can Presidents ‘fire’ senior military officers? Generally, yes…but it’s complicated. by Charlie Dunlap, J.D. · 15 September 2016. A journalist recently asked me whether a President could “fire” a general. The answer – pardon the pun – is generally, yes…but there are some legal complications. The context we are addressing is ...

Can the President remove the attorney general?

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.

Who has the power to remove from office?

The PresidentThe President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.

Can the president fire a member of an executive department or agency without the authority of the Senate?

Presidents enjoy broad discretion to fire cabinet secretaries and political appointees within the executive office. The president's freedom to dismiss directors of administrative agencies, however, is usually subject to terms set by Congress.

Can Congress remove officers?

—In the case of inferior officers, Congress may “limit and restrict the power of removal as it deems best for the public interest,” 602 and when Congress has vested the power to appoint these officers in heads of departments, it is ordinarily the department head, rather than the President, who enjoys the power of ...

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.

What officers can the president remove?

The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.

What is the president's removal power?

Appointment and removal power, in the context of administrative law, refers to the authority of an executive to appoint and remove officials in the various branches vested in its authority to do so.

Can an executive order override the Constitution?

Like both legislative statutes and the regulations promulgated by government agencies, executive orders are subject to judicial review and may be overturned if the orders lack support by statute or the Constitution.

Can an executive order override a law?

A: The President who issued an Executive Order can revoke it. Likewise, an incumbent President has the power to revoke an Executive Order issued by a predecessor. Congress also has the power to overturn an Executive Order by passing legislation that invalidates it.Nov 28, 2021

Is the attorney general removable at will?

Technically, no sitting President has ever fired an Attorney General they nominated to office with Senate approval. But President Trump clearly has the power to remove Sessions, based on the Constitution and past legal decisions. And most importantly, he can ask for his resignation.Jul 26, 2017

Can the president remove executive officers?

The president has the authority to remove his appointees from office, but the heads of independent federal agencies can only be removed for cause.

How do you remove a law?

To repeal any element of an enacted law, Congress must pass a new law containing repeal language and the codified statute's location in the U.S. Code (including the title, chapter, part, section, paragraph and clause).

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.

Did Bush and Clinton fire all the prosecutors?

^ "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

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 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.

What happens if you get a grand jury subpoena?

By issuing a grand jury subpoena, a U.S. attorney may destroy a hard-won reputation. In some instances, a U.S. attorney may use the power of the government to intentionally and methodically take another person's life.

Who was the attorney general of New Mexico in 2005?

At the other end of that spectrum, consider a former U.S. attorney for New Mexico, David Iglesias. In 2005, a Republican senator from that state, Pete Domenici, wanted Iglesias to initiate prosecutions against certain Democrats. When Iglesias declined because the cases lacked merit, Domenici voiced his unhappiness with the decision. What followed had long-lasting impact at the Department of Justice: Attorney General Alberto Gonzales fired Iglesias and a number of other U.S. attorneys, I among them, for what many found to be politically motivated reasons.

Can a grand jury subpoena destroy a reputation?

That makes the U.S. attorney more than a mere gatekeeper. By issuing a grand jury subpoena, a U.S. attorney may destroy a hard-won reputation. In some instances, a U.S. attorney may use the power of the government to intentionally and methodically take another person's life.

Do U.S. attorneys have to be confirmed?

This broad authority makes the selection of a U.S. attorney an important process that must be done with much care. Appointment to the position requires full Senate confirmation. Background checks are done not by government contractors but by special agents of the FBI, and they are most thorough: Given the threat of terrorism, and that terrorism cases arise throughout the country, each U.S. attorney must qualify to receive the highest of security clearances.

Issues in Brief

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Fallout

Replacement of The U.S. Attorneys

Reactions and Congressional Investigation

Aftermath

See Also

References and External Links