Preserving United States Attorney Independence Act of 2007

Floor Speech

PRESERVING UNITED STATES ATTORNEY INDEPENDENCE ACT OF 2007 -- (House of Representatives - May 22, 2007)

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Ms. LINDA T. SÁNCHEZ of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 214, a bill that will revoke the Attorney General's unfettered authority to appoint U.S. Attorneys indefinitely.

During the USA PATRIOT Act Reauthorization conference, Republicans slipped a small provision into the conference report with enormous repercussions. That provision removed the 120-day limit for interim appointments of U.S. Attorneys, thereby allowing interim appointees to serve indefinitely and without confirmation.

After months of investigation by the House Judiciary Committee, we have learned that the Bush administration exploited this newly created loophole to purge high-performing Federal prosecutors while they were in the midst of high-profile public corruption investigations involving Republican officials. And while the administration has insisted it never intended to use this loophole to bypass Senate confirmation for appointing U.S. Attorneys, our investigation has uncovered communications and testimony that suggest otherwise.

We also learned, for example, that in an e-mail to former White House Counsel, Harriet Miers, former Attorney General Chief of Staff, Kyle Sampson wrote: ``I strongly recommend that, as a matter of administration policy, we utilize the new statutory provisions that authorize the Attorney General to make U.S. Attorney appointments.'' Mr. Sampson further said that by using the new provision, the Justice Department could ``give far less deference to home-State Senators and thereby get (1) our preferred person appointed and (2) do it far faster and more efficiently, at less political cost to the White House.''

Referring to the new authority to appoint interim U.S. Attorneys indefinitely, Mr. Sampson also said, ``If we don't ever exercise it then what's the point of having it?''

The Preserving United States Attorney Independence Act of 2007 provides the necessary legislative response to restore checks and balances in the U.S. Attorney appointment process by reinstating the 120-day limit on the interim appointment. Additionally, the bill would apply retroactively to all U.S. Attorneys currently serving in an interim capacity. This would ensure that interim U.S. Attorneys appointed since the purge scheme was hatched are not permitted to serve indefinitely and without Senate confirmation.

This is a common sense solution that has received strong support from the President of the National Association of Former U.S. Attorneys as well as from a former Republican-appointed U.S. Attorney who testified before the Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law. It is also important to note that the Attorney General himself has expressed that he is not opposed to rolling back this provision of the USA PATRIOT Act.

I want to be clear that the consideration of S. 214 will not stop the Judiciary Committee's ongoing investigation of the U.S. Attorney purge scheme and the politicization of the Justice Department. After months of investigations, it is clear that the answers can only be found in the White House. We have spoken to every senior Justice Department official involved in the firing process and we still have not gotten the answers to two critical questions: Who made the decision to mass fire U.S. Attorneys, and why were these particular U.S. Attorneys targeted?

Mr. Speaker, the American people need to be assured that political calculations do not determine whether an individual is arrested or prosecuted. We must ensure that the integrity and honor of the Justice Department will be reinstated. I hope my colleagues will join me in the first critical step in this process by closing the loophole in the USA PATRIOT Act that this administration has improperly exploited for political purposes and supporting S. 214.

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