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With developments in the political and legal scandal involving whether or not White House and DOJ staff fired U.S. Attorneys based on politically charged investigations those federal prosecutors were conducting, it’s helpful to have some quick references at hand.

Here are a few that the Gonzales Watch blog recommends:

• U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee
• House Judiciary Committee
• Yahoo’s Full Coverage News - a well organized collection of freshly updated content, commentary, and lots of fresh video
• The Washington Post: U.S. Attorney Firings Investigation
• The Caucus Blog, The New York Times
• The White House (every Administration always has a few surprises to keep things interesting)
• U.S. Department of Justice

The U.S. Senate passed the U.S. Attorney Independence Act of 2007 this afternoon.

The Bill would place a check on the U.S. Attorney General’s ability to appoint replacement U.S. Attorneys without getting Senate approval first.

Text of Legislation

(amendents listed below)

Preserving United States Attorney Independence Act of 2007 (Reported in Senate)
S 214 RS

To amend chapter 35 of title 28, United States Code, to preserve the independence of United States attorneys.

January 9, 2007

Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. PRYOR, Mrs. LINCOLN, Mr. SCHUMER, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. FEINGOLD, Mr. SPECTER, and Ms. CANTWELL) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

February 12, 2007

Reported by Mr. LEAHY, with an amendment

[Omit the part struck through and insert the part printed in italic]

To amend chapter 35 of title 28, United States Code, to preserve the independence of United States attorneys.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Preserving United States Attorney Independence Act of 2007′.

SEC. 2. VACANCIES.

[Struck out->] Section 546 of title 28, United States Code, is amended to read as follows: [<-Struck out]

[Struck out->] `Sec. 546. Vacancies [<-Struck out]

[Struck out->] `The United States district court for a district in which the office of the United States attorney is vacant may appoint a United States attorney to serve until that vacancy is filled. The order of appointment by the court shall be filed with the clerk of the court.'. [<-Struck out]

Section 546 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by striking subsection (c) and inserting the following:

`(c) A person appointed as United States attorney under this section may serve until the earlier of–

• `(1) the qualification of a United States attorney for such district appointed by the President under section 541 of this title; or

• `(2) the expiration of 120 days after appointment by the Attorney General under this section.

`(d) If an appointment expires under subsection (c)(2), the district court for such district may appoint a United States attorney to serve until the vacancy is filled. The order of appointment by the court shall be filed with the clerk of the court.’.

SEC. 3. APPLICABILITY.

(a) In General- The amendments made by this Act shall take effect on the date of enactment of this Act.

(b) Application-

• (1) IN GENERAL- Any person serving as a United States attorney on the day before the date of enactment of this Act who was appointed under section 546 of title 28, United States Code, may serve until the earlier of–

• • (A) the qualification of a United States attorney for such district appointed by the President under section 541 of that title; or

• • (B) 120 days after the date of enactment of this Act.

• (2) EXPIRED APPOINTMENTS- If an appointment expires under paragraph (1), the district court for that district may appoint a United States attorney for that district under section 546(d) of title 28, United States Code, as added by this Act.

Calendar No. 24

To amend chapter 35 of title 28, United States Code, to preserve the independence of United States attorneys.

February 12, 2007

Amendments

s

SA 459. Mr. KYL submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 214, to amend chapter 35 of title 28, United States Code, to preserve the independence of United States attorneys; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

On page 2, strike line 1 and all that follows and insert the following:

SEC. 2. PROMPT NOMINATION AND CONFIRMATION OF UNITED STATES ATTORNEYS.

Section 541 of title 28, United States Code is amended–

(1) by redesignating subsections (b) and (c) as subsections (c) and (d), respectively; and

(2) by inserting after subsection (a) the following:

“(b)(1) Not later than 120 days after the date on which a vacancy occurs in the office of United States attorney for a judicial district, the President shall submit an appointment for that office to the Senate.

“(2) Except as provided in paragraph (3), not later than 120 days after the date of the submission of an appointment under paragraph (1), the Senate shall vote on that appointment.

“(3) If the President fails to comply with paragraph (1) with regard to the submission of any appointment for the office of United States attorney, paragraph (2) of this subsection shall have no force or effect with regard to any appointment to the office of United States attorney during the remainder of the term of office of that President.”.

SEC. 3. REPEAL OF INTERIM APPOINTMENT AUTHORITY.

Section 546 of title 28, United States Code, is repealed.

SA 460. Mr. SESSIONS submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 214, to amend chapter 35 of title 28, United States Code, to preserve the independence of United States attorneys; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

On page 2, line 23, strike the quotation marks and the second period and insert the following:

“(e)(1) A district court appointing a United States attorney under subsection (d) shall not appoint a candidate–

“(A) unless that candidate is an employee of the Department of Justice or is a Federal law enforcement officer (as that term is defined in section 115 of title 18); or

“(B) if the court learns that candidate is under investigation or has been sanctioned by the Department of Justice or another Federal agency.

“(2) Not less than 7 days before making an appointment under subsection (d), a district court shall confidentially inform the Attorney General of identity of the candidate for that appointment.”.

SA 461. Mr. PRYOR submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the joint resolution S.J. Res. 9, to revise United States policy on Iraq; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

Beginning on page 2, line 11, strike “to the limited purposes set forth” and all that follows through page 3, line 20, and insert the following: “to the following purposes:

(1) Protecting United States and coalition personnel and infrastructure.

(2) Training and equipping Iraqi forces.

(3) Conducting targeted counter-terrorism operations.

(b) Comprehensive Strategy.–Subsection (a) shall be implemented as part of a comprehensive diplomatic, political, and economic strategy that includes sustained engagement with Iraq’s neighbors and the international community for the purpose of working collectively to bring stability to Iraq.

(c) Reports Required.–Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and every 90 days thereafter, the President shall submit to Congress a classified report on the progress made in transitioning the mission of the United States forces in Iraq and achieving the benchmarks established pursuant to subsection (d).

(d) Classified Campaign Plan.–The President shall create a classified campaign plan for Iraq, including strategic and operation benchmarks and redeployment dates of United States forces from Iraq as those benchmarks are met.

SA 462. Mr. REID (for Mr. Biden (for himself and Mr. Menendez)) proposed an amendment to the bill S. 494, to endorse further enlargement of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and to facilitate the timely admission of new members to NATO, and for other purposes; as follows:

On page 5, line 19, insert “(FYROM)” after “Macedonia”.

On page 12, line 22, insert “(FYROM)” after “Macedonia”.

On page 14, line 7, insert “(FYROM)” after “Macedonia”.

On page 14, line 9, insert “

(FYROM)” after “MACEDONIA”.

On page 15, line 6, insert “(FYROM)” after “Macedonia”.

On page 15, line 6, insert “(FYROM)” after “Macedonia”

On page 15, line 20, insert “(FYROM)” after “Macedonia”.

On page 17, line 3, insert “(FYROM)” after “Macedonia”.

SA 463. Mr. REID (for Mr. Biden) proposed an amendment to the concurrent resolution H. Con. Res. 20, calling on the Government of the United Kingdom to immediately establish a full, independent, and public judicial inquiry into the murder of Northern Ireland defense attorney Patrick Finucane, as recommended by Judge Peter Cory as part of the Weston Park Agreement, in order to move forward on the Northern Ireland peace process; as follows:

In the ninth whereas clause of the preamble, strike “Dial” and insert “Dail”.

Senate Judiciary Member Charles Schumer (Dem. - NY) has told repoters that the Senate Judiciary Committee will move forward on Thursday, March 21, 2007 to issue subpoenas in the investigation of politically-charged firings of U.S. Attorneys.

Schumer and House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers viewed the 3,000 documents released by the DOJ late yesterday as incomplete and unacceptable.

Schumer stated that, while the communications received from then White House Counsel Harriet Miers may have explained the firings, no e-mails and related correspondence were provided that could have shed light on the White House deliberation process behind the U.S. Attorneys firings. Schumer and Conyers met with White House Counsel Fred Fielding earlier in the morning.

Technorati: U.S. Attorneys, Alberto Gonzales, White House Counsel, Charles Schumer, John Conyers, Fred Fielding

A new report says that Nevada GOP Senator John Ensign intends to fight on behalf of fired Nevada U.S. Attorney Daniel Bogden (inset)so that the former federal prosecutor can get a job in the U.S. Justice Department.

Technorati: U.S. Attorneys, John Ensign, Daniel Bogden, Justice Department