Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III (born December 24, 1946) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 84th United States Attorney General from 2017 to 2018.
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.
On March 10, 2017, Jeff Sessions, who was appointed United States attorney general by President Donald Trump, requested the resignations of 46 United States attorneys.
The United States attorney general is the head of the U.S. Department of Justice. The position requires a presidential nomination and subsequent confirmation by the United States Senate.
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
[48] The common law functions of the Attorney-General include power to initiate and terminate criminal prosecutions, power to grant immunity from prosecution, advising on the grant of pardons, issuing fiats in relator actions, instituting contempt of court proceedings, appearing as amicus curiae in matters of public ...
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.
As of September 8, 2022, President Biden had nominated 57 people to be U.S. attorneys, and 50 of the nominations were confirmed by the U.S. Senate, although 1 declined the nomination after confirmation. There are a total of 93 U.S. attorneys in the Department of Justice.
List of White House counselOfficeholderTerm startPresidentEmmet Flood ActingOctober 18, 2018Donald TrumpPat CipolloneDecember 10, 2018Dana RemusJanuary 20, 2021Joe BidenStuart DeleryJuly 202243 more rows
The president appoints U.S. attorneys, who mainly serve as administrators. Assistant U.S. attorneys handle the bulk of the trial work. The U.S. attorney general, who is the chief law enforcement officer in the United States and the head of the Department of Justice, has supervisory responsibility over U.S. attorneys.
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.
Attorneys General. While impeachment proceedings against cabinet secretaries are an exceedingly rare event, no office has provoked the ire of the House of Representatives more than that of Attorney General. During the first quarter of the 21st century, four Attorneys General have been subjected to the process.
The attorney general wields a huge amount of power and resources to influence legal enforcement in California, both through the courts and policing.
The Attorney General represents the United States in legal matters, advises the President and the heads of the executive departments of the government, and occasionally appears in person before the Supreme Court.
Salary Ranges for Attorney Generals The middle 57% of Attorney Generals makes between $101,019 and $254,138, with the top 86% making $560,998.
Attorneys General. While impeachment proceedings against cabinet secretaries are an exceedingly rare event, no office has provoked the ire of the House of Representatives more than that of Attorney General. During the first quarter of the 21st century, four Attorneys General have been subjected to the process.
He pressured his acting attorney general, Jeffrey Rosen, to open an investigation of purported fraud in the vote count in Georgia , even though there was no evidence of such wrongdoing. In one call, Trump apparently directed Rosen to "just say the election was corrupt, [and] leave the rest to me."
Investigations of presidential wrongdoing, by Congress and others, are wise and even necessary. But actual prosecutions are not, and Donald Trump should be the beneficiary of this tradition, even if he himself would surely not offer such grace to others.
But what about a conspiracy "to defraud the United States," which does not require proof of an underlying offense? According to Justice Department policy, the government will only bring such a charge if the defendant "made statements that he/she knew to be false, fraudulent or deceitful to a government agency, which disrupted the functions of the agency or of the government."
Federal criminal prosecutions can take place only pursuant to specific statutes, so it's worth analyzing some of the laws that critics say Trump may have violated.
Notwithstanding the Hatch Act, presidents and their staffs have engaged in partisan political activities since the birth of the Republic. And Trump could argue that he was not ordering Rosen to engage in political activity, but rather to enforce the law. Again, this criminal provision has rarely been invoked, and it seems unfair to raise it in connection with Trump's dealings with his acting attorney general.
The original duties of this officer were "to prosecute and conduct all suits in the Supreme Court in which the United States shall be concerned, and to give his advice and opinion upon questions of law when required by the president of the United States, or when requested by the heads of any of the departments". Some of these duties have since been transferred to the United States solicitor general and the White House counsel .
Attorney General is a Level I position in the Executive Schedule, thus earning a salary of US$ 221,400, as of January 2021.
The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United Stateson all legal matters. The attorney general is a statutory member of the Cabinet of the United States.
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Connecticut 's at-large district and 1st district
Presidential transition[edit] It is the practice for the attorney general, along with the other Cabinet secretaries and high-level political appointees of the President, to tender a resignation with effect on the Inauguration Day(January 20) of a new president.
Gerson was fourth in the line of succession at the Justice Department, but other senior DOJ officials had already resigned.[14] Janet Reno, President Clinton's nominee for attorney general, was confirmed on March 12,[15]and he resigned the same day.
The Department of Justice was established in 1870 to support the attorneys general in the discharge of their responsibilities.
It is the practice for the attorney general, along with the other Cabinet secretaries and high-level political appointees of the President, to tender a resignation with effect on the Inauguration Day (January 20) of a new president. The deputy attorney general is also expected to tender a resignation, but is commonly requested to stay on and act as the attorney general pending the confirmation by the Senate of the new attorney general.
Congress passed the Judiciary Act of 1789 which, among other things, established the Office of the Attorney General. The original duties of this officer were "to prosecute and conduct all suits in the Supreme Court in which the United States shall be concerned, and to give his advice and opinion upon questions of law when required by the president of the United States, or when requested by the heads of any of the departments". Some of these duties have since been transferred to the U…
U.S.C. Title 28, §508 establishes the first two positions in the line of succession, while allowing the attorney general to designate other high-ranking officers of the Department of Justice as subsequent successors. Furthermore, an Executive Order defines subsequent positions, the most recent from March 31, 2017, signed by President Donald Trump. The current line of succession is:
1. United States Deputy Attorney General
• Executive Order 13787 for "Providing an Order of Succession Within the Department of Justice"