Special Counsel Independence and Integrity Act
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The Special Counsel Independence and Integrity Act () is a proposed United States law that would impose restrictions on the firing of a
special counsel In the United States, a special counsel (formerly called special prosecutor or independent counsel) is a lawyer appointed to investigate, and potentially prosecute, a particular case of suspected wrongdoing for which a conflict of interest exi ...
appointed by the
United States Attorney General The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the p ...
.


Provisions

According to the
Congressional Research Service The Congressional Research Service (CRS) is a public policy research institute of the United States Congress. Operating within the Library of Congress, it works primarily and directly for members of Congress and their committees and staff on a ...
summary, the bill would mandate that "a special counsel may only be removed by the Attorney General (or the most senior Senate-confirmed
Department of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...
official); may only be removed for misconduct, dereliction of duty, incapacity, conflict of interest, or other good cause; must be provided written notice that specifies the reason for removal; and may file an action to challenge the removal not later than 10 days after notice was provided."


Legislative history


115th Congress

The bill was sponsored by Senators
Cory Booker Cory Anthony Booker (born April 27, 1969) is an American politician and attorney who has served as the junior United States senator from New Jersey since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, Booker is the first African-American U.S. se ...
(D- NJ),
Lindsey Graham Lindsey Olin Graham (born July 9, 1955) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from South Carolina, a seat he has held since 2003. A member of the Republican Party, Graham chaired the Senate Committee on ...
(R- SC),
Chris Coons Christopher Andrew Coons (born September 9, 1963) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Delaware since 2010. A member of the Democratic Party, Coons served as the county executive of New Castle C ...
(D- DE) and
Thom Tillis Thomas Roland Tillis (born August 30, 1960) is an American politician serving as the junior United States senator from North Carolina since 2015. A Republican, he was elected to the North Carolina House of Representatives in 2006, and began ser ...
(R- NC). It was a consolidation of two previous proposals: the Special Counsel Independence Protection Act () sponsored by Booker and Graham, and the Special Counsel Integrity Act () sponsored by Tillis and Coons. The consolidated bill was announced on April 11, 2018, shortly after a raid on Michael Cohen related to the ongoing Special Counsel investigation, leading to renewed fears that President
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
would fire Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
Senate Judiciary Committee The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the Department of Justice (DOJ), consider executive and judicial nominations ...
Chair
Chuck Grassley Charles Ernest Grassley (born September 17, 1933) is an American politician serving as the president pro tempore emeritus of the United States Senate, and the senior United States senator from Iowa, having held the seat since 1981. In 2022, h ...
(R- IA) sought expedited consideration of the bill, although its chances of reaching a vote of the full Senate were considered slim due to opposition by the Republican leadership, even if the bill was passed by the committee. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R- KY) on April 17 said that he would not bring the bill up for a vote of the full Senate, but Grassley said the Judiciary Committee would vote on it anyway. It was reported that Grassley was seeking an amendment that would require advance notice to Congress of a removal, and would require Congress to be notified if the scope of the special counsel's investigation changes. However, these changes were not included in the bill. The bill passed the committee on a 14–7 vote on April 26. On September 27, 2018, Democrats tried to insert the text of the bill into three tax bills under consideration as an amendment, but the proposals were voted down.


116th Congress

Versions of the bill were reintroduced at the beginning of the
116th United States Congress The 116th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives. It convened in Washington, D.C., on January 3, 2019, and ended on Janu ...
in January 2019 in both the House and the Senate. Although bill sponsor Lindsey Graham had become the Senate Judiciary Committee Chair, the Senate leadership was still opposed.


Reactions

Members of the Republican Senate leadership opposed the bill. McConnell said, "There's no indication that Mueller's going to be fired", and "I'm the one who decides what we take to the floor, that's my responsibility as the majority leader, and we will not be having this on the floor of the Senate." Senate Majority Whip
John Cornyn John Cornyn III ( ; born February 2, 1952) is an American politician and attorney serving as the senior United States senator from Texas, a seat he has held since 2002. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the Senate majority whip for ...
(R- TX) said, "I don't think it's necessary. And if it did pass, would the president sign it? I think it's unlikely that he would." Senate Minority Leader
Chuck Schumer Charles Ellis Schumer ( ; born November 23, 1950) is an American politician serving as Senate Majority Leader since January 20, 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, Schumer is in his fourth Senate term, having held his seat since 1999, an ...
(D- NY) supported the bill, saying "Why not pass this legislation now and avoid a constitutional crisis?"


See also

* Timeline of investigations into Trump and Russia (January–June 2018)


References

{{Mueller special counsel investigation, state=expanded Proposed legislation of the 115th United States Congress