who can remove the attorney general from office besides the president

by Mathew Kulas 4 min read

Could an attorney general be removed just like a president?

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.

Is a US Attorney a political office?

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 Holder’s decision to have a …

Can a governor be removed from office for cause?

May 01, 2019 · According to Tribe, the process of impeaching an attorney general is "identical" to that of removing the president, "except that the vice president presides over the Senate trial if anyone except a...

What is the process of impeaching an attorney general?

Answer (1 of 8): No.. You couldn’t logically expect impartiality when the AG is nominated by at least a politically like-minded President of either party . You’d expect that the AG’s interests might tend to follow similar political directions at least. What we would expect is impartiality in fol...

Who can fire the Attorney General of the United States?

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.

Can the 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.

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

Who can remove executive officials?

presidentsThrough the beginning of the twenty-first century, however, no overarching principles dictate precisely when, and under what conditions, presidents can remove executive officials. Presidents enjoy broad discretion to fire cabinet secretaries and political appointees within the executive office.

Can cabinet members be impeached?

Assuming this line of cases serves as a guide in deciding who is a civil officer subject to impeachment, it appears that employees, as non-officers, are not subject to impeachment, while principal officers, such as the head of a cabinet-level executive department, are.

What is the only state whose legislature does not have the have the power to impeach judicial and executive branch officers?

The impeachment process was first used by the English Parliament in the 14th century. Following the British example, the U.S. Constitution and all state constitutions except Oregon's include an impeachment doctrine.

Who has the power to remove the postmaster general?

The postmaster general can be removed only by the board of governors. The board is currently made up of four Democrats, four Republicans and an independent. No more than five governors may be from the same party.Nov 19, 2021

Can the president remove inferior officers?

In the absence of specific legislative provision to the contrary, the President may at his discretion remove an inferior officer whose term is limited by statute, 606 or one appointed with the consent of the Senate.

Does the president need Congressional approval to remove an official?

United States (1926): The court held that the power to remove appointed officials, with the exception of federal judges, rests solely with the president and does not require congressional approval.

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 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 president fire Cabinet members?

The members of the Cabinet serve at the pleasure of the president, who can dismiss them at any time without the approval of the Senate, as affirmed by the Supreme Court of the United States in Myers v. United States (1926), or downgrade their Cabinet membership status.

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.

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.

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."

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.

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.

What did the IG report say about the firings?

The IG's report contained "substantial evidence" that party politics drove a number of the firings, and IG Glenn Fine said in a statement that Gonzales had "abdicated his responsibility to safeguard the integrity and independence of the department.".

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 ...

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.

Why did Berman call the Attorney General's Bluff?

attorney in Brooklyn, said Mr. Berman had “called the attorney general’s bluff” because only the president, not Mr. Barr, had the power to remove him.

What does Mr. Harmon argue about the power of the President?

Harmon also pointed to constitutional arguments to back his conclusion: U.S. attorneys exercise executive power, making the president responsible for the conduct of their offices, so the president “must have the power to remove one he believes is an unsuitable incumbent, regardless of who appointed him,” he wrote.

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 ...

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.

What did Mr. Harmon write about due process?

Harmon wrote in 1979, it might violate constitutional protections for due process of law if judges overseeing cases as neutral arbiters had the power to fire prosecutors if the judges did not like how they handled their responsibilities.

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.

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.

Can the President fire the Attorney General?

The president can fire the attorney general. O bama administration spokesmen are portraying the president as unable to overrule Attorney General Eric Holder’s decision to have a special prosecutor determine whether to prosecute CIA interrogators who were cleared by Department of Justice career attorneys back in 2004.

Issues in Brief

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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 nomi…
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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, By mid-September 2007, nine senior staff of the Department of Justice associated with the controversy had resigned.The most prominent resignations include: 1. 1.1. Attorney General Alberto Gonzale…
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Replacement of The U.S. Attorneys

  • Initial planning
    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 resignation…
  • Implementation: The U.S. Attorney Removal List
    In October 2006, George W. Bushtold Alberto Gonzales that he had received complaints that some of the U.S. Attorneys had not pursued certain voter-fraud investigations. The complaints came from Republican officials, who demanded fraud investigations into a number of Democratic cam…
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Reactions and Congressional Investigation

  • Initial reaction
    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 proces…
  • Contempt of Congress charges
    On July 11, 2007, as Sara Taylor testified, George Manning, the attorney to former White House CounselHarriet Miers, announced that Miers intended to follow the request of the Bush Administration and not appear before the Committee the following day. Manning stated Miers "c…
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Aftermath

  • Subpoenas and lost emails
    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 po…
  • Appointment of U.S. Attorneys and the 2005 Patriot Act reauthorization
    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. …
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See Also

References and External Links

  1. Resignation letters and emails, and other related documents hosted by WSJ
  2. Taylor, Marissa; Margaret Talev (2007-06-18). "A Q&A for the U.S. Attorneys saga". McClatchy Washington Bureau. McClatchy Newspapers. Archived from the original on June 2, 2008. Retrieved 2007-06-20.
  3. The Washington Post in-depth coverage site on firings: "Special Reports: U.S. Attorney Firing…
  1. Resignation letters and emails, and other related documents hosted by WSJ
  2. Taylor, Marissa; Margaret Talev (2007-06-18). "A Q&A for the U.S. Attorneys saga". McClatchy Washington Bureau. McClatchy Newspapers. Archived from the original on June 2, 2008. Retrieved 2007-06-20.
  3. The Washington Post in-depth coverage site on firings: "Special Reports: U.S. Attorney Firings Investigation". The Washington Post. 2007-03-05. Retrieved 2010-05-01.
  4. Inside the U.S. Attorneys Emails: Major Players and Themes The Wall Street Journal(review of the most significant of the emails).