[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 277 Introduced in House (IH)]







111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 277

   To provide an alternate procedure for the prosecution of certain 
      criminal contempts referred for prosecution by the House of 
                Representatives, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 7, 2009

Mr. Miller of North Carolina (for himself, Mr. Conyers, and Ms. Lee of 
 California) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To provide an alternate procedure for the prosecution of certain 
      criminal contempts referred for prosecution by the House of 
                Representatives, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Special Criminal Contempt of 
Congress Procedures Act of 2009''.

SEC. 2. ALTERNATE PROCEDURE.

    (a) Scope of Application.--If the House of Representatives finds a 
current or former officer or employee of the Executive branch has 
violated section 102 of the Revised Statutes of the United States (2 
U.S.C. 192), the procedures of this Act apply.
    (b) Certification by Speaker.--Upon the finding by the House of 
Representatives of a violation to which this Act applies, the Speaker 
shall certify that finding to the appropriate United States attorney, 
whose duty it shall be to bring the matter before the grand jury for 
its action.
    (c) Circumstances Leading to Appointment of Special Counsel.--If--
            (1) the Attorney General or the United States attorney to 
        whom the finding was certified informs the court or the House 
        that the Department of Justice will not prosecute the case; or
            (2) by the end of the 30th day after the date of receipt of 
        a certification made under subsection (b) a grand jury has not 
        returned an indictment based on the violation alleged in the 
        certification;
the Chief Judge of the United States district court for the district to 
whose United States Attorney the certification was made (hereinafter in 
this Act referred to as the ``Chief Judge'') shall appoint a special 
counsel under section 3. It shall be the duty of the Attorney General 
to inform that court and the House if a grand jury does not return an 
indictment by the end of the 30-day period. The Speaker of the House, 
or any interested congressional party, may file with the Chief Judge a 
suggestion that circumstances giving rise to a duty to appoint a 
special counsel have occurred after the 30-day period ends without the 
return of an indictment.

SEC. 3. APPOINTMENT, QUALIFICATIONS, AND PROSECUTORIAL JURISDICTION OF 
              SPECIAL COUNSEL, AND ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS RELATING TO 
              THE SPECIAL COUNSEL.

    (a) Appointment, Qualifications, and Prosecutorial Jurisdiction of 
Special Counsel.--
            (1) Appointment and qualifications.--The Chief Judge shall 
        appoint the special counsel, who must be an attorney in good 
        standing with substantial prosecutorial experience who has not 
        served in any capacity in the administration of the President 
        who is or was in office when the Speaker of the House certified 
        the finding of a violation.
            (2) Prosecutorial jurisdiction.--The Chief Judge shall 
        define the special counsel's prosecutorial jurisdiction as 
        comprising the investigation and prosecution of the alleged 
        violation, any conspiracy to commit the alleged violation, and 
        any perjury, false statement, or obstruction of justice 
        occurring in relation to such investigation and prosecution.
    (b) Authority of Special Counsel With Respect to Matters Within 
Prosecutorial Jurisdiction.--With respect to all matters in that 
special counsel's prosecutorial jurisdiction, a special counsel 
appointed under this Act shall have full power and independent 
authority to exercise all prosecutorial functions and powers, and any 
other functions and powers normally ancillary thereto, of the 
Department of Justice, the Attorney General, and any other officer or 
employee of the Department of Justice, except that the Attorney General 
shall exercise direction or control as to those matters that 
specifically require the Attorney General's personal action under 
section 2516 of title 18, United States Code.
    (c) Compliance With Policies of the Department of Justice.--
            (1) In general.--A special counsel shall, except to the 
        extent that to do so would be inconsistent with the purposes of 
        this Act, comply with the written or other established policies 
        of the Department of Justice respecting enforcement of the 
        criminal laws.
            (2) National security.--A special counsel shall comply with 
        guidelines and procedures used by the Department in the 
        handling and use of classified material.
    (d) Salary.--The special counsel shall receive a salary equivalent 
to the salary of the United States Attorney for the District of 
Columbia.
    (e) Staff.--The special counsel may appoint and fix the salaries of 
such staff, not to exceed 12 in number, as the special counsel deems 
necessary to carry out the functions of the special counsel under this 
Act. However, no salary of a member of such staff may exceed the salary 
of the special counsel.
    (f) Expenses.--The Department of Justice shall pay all costs 
relating to the establishment and operation of any office of special 
counsel. The Attorney General shall submit to the Congress, not later 
than 30 days after the end of each fiscal year, a report on amounts 
paid during that fiscal year for expenses of investigations and 
prosecutions the special counsel.
    (g) Report to Congress.--Each special counsel shall report to 
Congress annually on the special counsel's activities under this Act. 
The report shall include a description of the progress of any 
investigation or prosecution conducted by the special counsel and 
provide information justifying the costs of the activities reported on.

SEC. 4. REMOVAL OF SPECIAL COUNSEL.

    (a) In General.--A special counsel may be removed from office, 
other than by impeachment and conviction, only by the personal action 
of the Attorney General, and only for good cause, physical or mental 
disability, or any other condition that substantially impairs the 
performance of that special counsel's duties.
    (b) Report Upon Removal.--If a special counsel is removed from 
office, the Attorney General shall promptly submit to the Chief Judge 
and to Congress a report specifying the facts found and the ultimate 
grounds for the removal.
    (c) Judicial Review of Removal.--A special counsel removed from 
office may obtain judicial review of the removal in a civil action. The 
Chief Judge may not hear or determine any such civil action or any 
appeal of a decision in any such civil action. The special counsel may 
be reinstated or granted other appropriate relief by order of the 
court.
    (d) Appointment of Replacement.--Upon removal of a special counsel, 
the Chief Judge shall appoint a similarly qualified individual to 
continue the functions of the special counsel.

SEC. 5. TERMINATION OF SPECIAL COUNSEL'S AUTHORITY.

    (a) In General.--The authority of the special counsel shall cease 
two years after the date of the special counsel's appointment, but the 
Chief Judge may extend that authority for an additional period not to 
exceed one year, if the Chief Judge finds good cause to do so. Good 
cause to do so includes that the investigation or prosecution 
undertaken by the special counsel has been delayed by dilatory tactics 
by persons who could provide evidence that would significantly assist 
the investigation or prosecution, and also includes the need to allow 
the special counsel to participate in any appellate proceedings related 
to prosecutions engaged in by the special counsel.
    (b) Termination by Court.--The Chief Judge, either on the judge's 
own motion or upon the request of the Attorney General, may terminate 
an office of special counsel at any time, on the ground that the 
investigation of all matters within the prosecutorial jurisdiction of 
such special counsel, and any resulting prosecutions, have been 
completed or so substantially completed that it would be appropriate 
for the Department of Justice to complete such investigations and 
prosecutions.

SEC. 6. INCREASE IN PENALTY FOR CONTEMPT OF CONGRESS.

    Section 102 of the Revised Statutes of the United States (2 U.S.C. 
194) is amended by striking ``deemed'' and all that follows through 
``twelve months'' and inserting ``fined not more than $1,000,000 or 
imprisoned not more than 2 years, or both''.

SEC. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This Act takes effect on January 20, 2009.
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