scholarly journals Prosecuting Executive Branch Wrongdoing

Author(s):  
Julian Cook, III

Attorney General William Barr’s handling of Robert Mueller’s Report on the Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election was undeniably controversial and raised meaningful questions regarding the impartiality of the Department of Justice. Yet, Barr’s conduct, which occurred at the conclusion of the Mueller investigation, was merely the caboose at the end of a series of controversies that were coupled together from the outset of the investigation. Ensnarled in dissonance from its inception, the Mueller investigation was dogged by controversies that ultimately compromised its legitimacy. Public trust of criminal investigations of executive branch wrongdoing requires prosecutorial independence. To further this critical objective, an investigative and prosecutorial structure must be implemented that grants a prosecutor sufficient latitude to pursue independent investigations while reigning in the exercise of runaway discretion. Indeed, at no time since Watergate has there been such a clear need for reform. This Article will explain why many of the controversies that beset the Mueller investigation can be sourced to the Special Counsel regulations—the rules that governed his appointment, as well as his investigative and prosecutorial authority. And it will explain why many of these ills can be ameliorated by enacting a modified and innovative version of the expired Independent Counsel Statute.

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fran Quigley

Fran Quigley, Torture, Impunity, and the Need for Independent Prosecutorial Oversight of the Executive Branch, 20 Cornell J. L. & Pub. Pol'y 271 (2010)Allegations of Executive Branch misconduct present an inherent conflict of interest because prosecutorial discretion is invested in a U.S. Attorney General appointed by – and serving at the pleasure of – the President. Various commentators, including Justice Antonin Scalia, Professor Stephen Carter, and the many critics of the former independent counsel statute have posited that checks on executive power provided by the Legislative Branch, the Judiciary, and political pressure will overcome any potential conflicts of interest. This sanguine view of adequate Executive Branch oversight was put to the test when high-level members of the George W. Bush Administration authorized acts of torture. After widespread public disapproval, Congress and the courts responded with efforts to rein in the Administration’s actions. However, the Department of Justice under the Bush Administration not only refused to investigate and prosecute allegations of sanctioning torture, but its attorneys also led the efforts to overcome congressional, judicial, and popular resistance to the Executive Branch conduct – and did so while explicitly acknowledging that the Executive Branch could expect little or no judicial oversight for its actions. Ultimately, the President who sanctioned torture left office, and the voters elected a President who expressed sharply different views on torture. However, the subsequent Administration of President Barack Obama, although affiliated with a different party and on record as opposed to acts of torture sponsored by the previous Administration, has also declined to pursue prosecution of high-level members of the Bush Administration. This most recent development shows that the conflict of interest presented by presidential control over Executive Branch prosecution transcends predictable concerns of self-preservation. The conflict of interest also highlights the natural desire of a sitting President to avoid prosecutions of previous executive officials when such prosecutions would consume political capital needed for the President’s broader legislative and foreign policy agendas. When it comes to controlling Executive Branch criminal conduct, the current structure designed to provide checks and balances comes up empty and thus must be reformed. The most direct and effective reform would be the direct election of the U.S. Attorney General. Even less precise remedies, such as a revived and improved independent counsel or Congress enacting provisions to break up the current monopoly over Executive Branch prosecution, would be significant improvements over the current system, which mocks the principle of equal justice for all.


Author(s):  
Christina L. Boyd ◽  
Michael J. Nelson ◽  
Ian Ostrander ◽  
Ethan D. Boldt

Scholars, politicians, and prosecutors themselves have repeatedly maintained that federal prosecutors have vast independence when carrying out their jobs. Despite this, we argue that federal prosecutors are constrained by the federal and local political environments in which they serve. U.S. Attorneys, the chief federal prosecutors for the 93 federal judicial districts around the country, are selected through a politically driven appointment process and operate within the purview of the Department of Justice, an executive branch agency. Federal prosecutors are led by the U.S. Attorney General, a presidential appointee and high-ranking member of the president’s cabinet. And U.S. Attorneys are invested members of their local community and are likely to be mindful of those preferences when making prosecutorial decisions. As a result, we should expect to find political influence at every stage of a U.S. Attorney’s service. The chapter closes with a preview of the full book.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (V) ◽  
pp. 252-266
Author(s):  
Hellen Kanaiza Barang’a ◽  
Chrispen Maende

Embracing and managing diversity in today’s business world is an essential part of successful business practices as it brings various voices to a team, improves morale and increases overall productivity. However, manager face difficulties in understanding the value of each person’s unique abilities or voice, there may arise some instances where certain employees still have conflicts. Ineffective communication of key objectives results in confusion, lack of teamwork, and low morale. In the office of the attorney general and department of justice now going through a massive influx of young workforce in both gender with diverse educational background and from different ethnic groups have brought a challenge of having different sets of values, expectations, and work styles in the work place and also understanding the other’s culture has been a heavy task on managing work force in the organization. It is due to this regard that this study sought to investigate the influence of workforce diversity on employee performance in the office of the Attorney General and Department of Justice in Nairobi City County, Kenya. The study specific objectives were to examine the influence of educational background diversity, ethnicity diversity, age diversity and gender diversity on employee performance. The theories guiding the study were the human capital theory, social identity theory, social exchange theory and social categorization theory. This study will use descriptive survey research design. The unit of observation was office of the Attorney General and Department of Justice in Nairobi City County, Kenya and the unit of observation was 5 Human Resource Managers and 50 Support Staff from HRM department. A census of 55 respondents was carried out. Primary data was collected using questionnaires. Quantitative data was analysed with the use of descriptive statistics such as mean and standard deviations and presented using tables, graphs, charts and figures. Content analysis was used to test data that was qualitative in nature or aspect of the data collected from the open ended questions. Multiple regression analysis was used to test the extent to which the variables relate to each other. The study examined that educational background diversity, ethnicity diversity, age diversity and gender had a positive and significant relationship on employee performance. The study concluded that employees with diverse educational background promote higher levels of consistency, creativity because of their unique perspectives. Ethnicity diversity management improve gains in worker welfare and efficiency, leads to reduced turnover costs, fewer internal disputes and grievances, prevention of marginalization and exclusion of categories of workers, improved social cohesion and so on. Age diversity in the workplace provides a larger spectrum of knowledge, values, and preferences. Having a diverse gender within the organization leads to a wider talent pool, encourages different points of view and approaches that come from different life experiences and the organization to challenge gender stereotypes. The study recommended that the organization should employ people of different backgrounds in education so as to improve creativity and innovation. The organizational management has responsibilities when it comes to promoting and monitoring ethnic diversity policy in the workplace. It is highly essential for the organization to find effective ways to meet the challenges of age diversity because both the old and the young employees can make tremendous contributions to the organization, in their own unique way. The organization should encourage team leaders to select diverse groups for projects to ensure the genders do not naturally separate.


Author(s):  
Kevin M. Baron

This chapter delves into the depths of one of the most important developments within modern American politics, the creation and institutionalization of executive privilege. In facing a fervent Congress in the grips of McCarthyism, Eisenhower issued a letter denying testimony to the Senate for the Army-McCarthy hearings. His letter included a memo from Attorney General Brownell that claimed the president had an inherent constitutional privilege to deny information to Congress or the public if it was in the public interest and for national security. This action institutionalized the Cold War Paradigm in the executive branch and created an extra-constitutional power for the president. Eisenhower issued several executive orders concerning classification and public dissemination of government information, along with the creation of the Office of Strategic Information (OSI) within the Commerce Department to oversee these policies. Eisenhower claimed historic precedent to justify his inherent constitutional power, regardless, it showed a learned response that changed executive power. Congress would respond in 1955 by creating the Special Subcommittee on Government Information chaired by Rep. John Moss, given jurisdiction for oversight on all executive branch information policies and practices. With the issue of freedom of information institutionalized in Congress, a 12-year legislative power struggle would unfold between Congress and the White House ending with the passage of the Freedom of Information Act in 1966.


Author(s):  
Jenna M. Loyd ◽  
Alison Mountz

Chapter 3 examines how central Louisiana became the unlikely site for the Immigration and Naturalization Service’s first new long-term detention facility and hub for deportation. Faced with high unemployment following the collapse of the local lumber industry, the enterprising mayor of Oakdale spearheaded a campaign to secure the new federal facility. Simultaneously, the Department of Justice debated which agency was best suited to carry out the new mandate of long-term detention of noncitizens. The INS did not have the carceral experience of the Bureau of Prisons, but because migrant detention was not a criminal justice punishment, this imprisonment threatened to create legal liabilities for the government. These legal questions also informed jurisdictional conflict over where this new facility would be sited. Oakdale’s efforts were jeopardized as Associate Attorney General Rudolph Giuliani backed the proposal of the Bureau of Prisons to run migrant detention near one of its prisons in Oklahoma. The forceful backing of Louisiana politicians eventually won the facility for Oakdale.


Author(s):  
Richard B. Collins ◽  
Dale A. Oesterle ◽  
Lawrence Friedman

This chapter looks at Article IV of the Colorado Constitution, which defines the executive department. By providing for the separate election of the secretary of state, treasurer, and attorney general, Section 1 seems to divide executive branch authority. In practice, this tension has mattered only when the attorney general and governor belonged to different political parties, and the attorney general asserted a legal position opposed by the governor. Section 1 imposes term limits on the state’s elective executives. Section 11 gives the governor the usual veto power followed by Section 12, giving the special power of the line-item veto over appropriations bills. Section 13 has complex provisions for succession if the governor’s office becomes vacant during a term.


Author(s):  
Stephen Skowronek ◽  
John A. Dearborn ◽  
Desmond King

This chapter examines depth in norms, shared understandings of what constitutes appropriate political and institutional behavior. Norms that shield the work of administrators reflect an abiding, collective interest in preventing the operations of the executive branch from being overrun by personal interests and the political calculations of the moment. Nowhere in the executive branch do norms play a larger role than in law enforcement, where they figure prominently in public perception of the legitimacy of the entire operation. By the same token, however, political insulation and administrative discretion make the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Justice prime sites both for resistance to the claims of a unitary executive and for presidential suspicions about a Deep State with interests of its own.


2019 ◽  
Vol 97 (1) ◽  
pp. 235-256
Author(s):  
Julia R. Fox ◽  
Edo Steinberg

Against the backdrop of continued declining public trust in media, particularly network television news, along with rising ratings and recognition for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, this research examined Stewart’s network television news critiques during presidential election campaigns in 2000, 2004, 2008, and 2012. The study found an increase in frequency and prominence of critiques over the years and a shift in focus to more undermining criticism of professional practices, raising the question of whether Stewart’s stepped-up criticism may have been at least partly responsible for growing distrust during those years among younger adults, his primary viewing audience.


Subject Ruling party struggles. Significance The Dominican Republic is enjoying strong economic growth but faces rising political uncertainty. Divisions within the ruling Dominican Liberation Party (PLD) over the Law of Political Parties and candidates for the 2020 presidential election have dominated debates in recent months. On June 7, after more than a year of investigations into the Odebrecht scandal, the Attorney General indicted seven politicians for bribery while controversially exonerating key PLD leaders. Impacts Internationally controversial anti-migration policies are unlikely to soften as political factions vie for public support. The Dominican Republic will remain one of the fastest-growing economies in the region despite political uncertainties. The country’s investment-friendly environment is unlikely to be at risk even during the electoral campaign.


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