[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4807 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4807

To provide for the appointment of a Special Counsel to investigate and 
 prosecute any charges arising from the activity of signatories to the 
    letter entitled ``Public Statement on the Hunter Biden Emails'' 
          (October 19, 2020) involving election interference.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 20, 2023

  Mr. Santos introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To provide for the appointment of a Special Counsel to investigate and 
 prosecute any charges arising from the activity of signatories to the 
    letter entitled ``Public Statement on the Hunter Biden Emails'' 
          (October 19, 2020) involving election interference.

    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 ``Deep State Accountability Act of 
2023''.

SEC. 2. APPOINTMENT OF SPECIAL COUNSEL.

    (a) Appointment.--The Attorney General shall appoint a Special 
Counsel to investigate and prosecute any charges arising from the 
activity of a covered person that involved--
            (1) a violation of section 2004(b) of the Revised Statutes 
        (52 U.S.C. 10101(b)); or
            (2) other unlawful conduct involving an abuse of power or 
        knowingly engaging in election interference.
    (b) Qualifications and Requirements of Special Counsel.--The 
Special Counsel appointed under this section--
            (1) shall be non-partisan;
            (2) shall comply with all requests to appear under oath 
        before the Committees on the Judiciary of the House of 
        Representatives and of the Senate;
            (3) may not have made any political contributions or 
        engaged in political actions (including through their spouse) 
        with the presidential campaigns of either President Trump or 
        President Biden; and
            (4) shall report to the Committees on the Judiciary of the 
        House of Representatives and of the Senate any attempt by the 
        Administration of President Biden or the Department of Justice 
        to halt, delay, or interfere with the investigation of the 
        Special Counsel.
    (c) Scope of Prosecutorial Jurisdiction.--
            (1) In general.--The special counsel is authorized to fully 
        investigate and prosecute and all matters related to the 
        activity described in subsection (a). Such jurisdiction shall 
        also include the authority to investigate and prosecute Federal 
        crimes, other than those classified as Class B or C 
        misdemeanors or infractions, that may arise out of the 
        investigation or prosecution such matters, including perjury, 
        obstruction of justice, destruction of evidence, and 
        intimidation of witnesses.
            (2) Expansion of jurisdiction.--An appropriate district 
        court of the United States, upon the request of the Special 
        Counsel, may expand the prosecutorial jurisdiction of the 
        Special Counsel.
    (d) Authority.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 
Special Counsel shall have, with respect to all matters in such Special 
Counsel's prosecutorial jurisdiction established under this section, 
full power and independent authority to exercise all investigative and 
prosecutorial functions and powers 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. Such 
investigative and prosecutorial functions and powers shall include--
            (1) conducting proceedings before grand juries and other 
        investigations;
            (2) participating in court proceedings and engaging in any 
        litigation, including civil and criminal matters, that such 
        Special Counsel considers necessary; a
            (3) appealing any decision of a court in any case or 
        proceeding in which such Special Counsel participates in an 
        official capacity;
            (4) reviewing all documentary evidence available from any 
        source;
            (5) determining whether to contest the assertion of any 
        testimonial privilege;
            (6) receiving appropriate national security clearances and, 
        if necessary, contesting in court (including, where 
        appropriate, participating in in camera proceedings) any claim 
        of privilege or attempt to withhold evidence on grounds of 
        national security;
            (7) making applications to any Federal court for a grant of 
        immunity to any witness, consistent with applicable statutory 
        requirements, or for warrants, subpoenas, or other court 
        orders, and, for purposes of sections 6003, 6004, and 6005 of 
        title 18, exercising the authority vested in a United States 
        attorney or the Attorney General;
            (8) inspecting, obtaining, or using the original or a copy 
        of any tax return, in accordance with the applicable statutes 
        and regulations, and, for purposes of section 6103 of the 
        Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and the regulations issued 
        thereunder, exercising the powers vested in a United States 
        attorney or the Attorney General;
            (9) initiating and conducting prosecutions in any court of 
        competent jurisdiction, framing and signing indictments, filing 
        informations, and handling all aspects of any case, in the name 
        of the United States; and
            (10) consulting with the United States attorney for the 
        district in which any violation of law with respect to which 
        the Special Counsel is appointed was alleged to have occurred.

SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT.

    (a) Oversight of Conduct of Independent Counsel.--
            (1) Congressional oversight.--The appropriate committees of 
        the Congress shall have oversight jurisdiction with respect to 
        the official conduct of any Special Counsel appointed under 
        section 2, and such Special Counsel shall have the duty to 
        cooperate with the exercise of such oversight jurisdiction.
            (2) Reports to congress.--The Special Counsel appointed 
        under section 2 shall submit to the Congress annually a report 
        on the activities of the Special Counsel, including a 
        description of the progress of any investigation or prosecution 
        conducted by the Special Counsel. Such report may omit any 
        matter that in the judgment of the Special Counsel should be 
        kept confidential, but shall provide information adequate to 
        justify the expenditures that the Special Counsel has made.
    (b) Oversight of Conduct of Attorney General.--Within 15 days after 
receiving an inquiry about a particular case under this Act, which is a 
matter of public knowledge, from a committee of the Congress with 
jurisdiction over this Act, the Attorney General shall provide the 
following information to that committee with respect to that case:
            (1) When the information about the case was received.
            (2) Whether a preliminary investigation is being conducted, 
        and if so, the date it began.
    (c) Information Relating to Impeachment.--The Special Counsel shall 
advise the House of Representatives of any substantial and credible 
information which such Special Counsel receives, in carrying out the 
Special Counsel's responsibilities under this Act that may constitute 
grounds for an impeachment. Nothing in this Act or section 49 of title 
28, United States Code, shall prevent the Congress or either House 
thereof from obtaining information in the course of an impeachment 
proceeding.

SEC. 4. DEFINITION.

    In this Act, the term ``covered person'' means any of the following 
signatories to the letter entitled ``Public Statement on the Hunter 
Biden Emails'' (October 19, 2020):
            (1) Jim Clapper.
            (2) Mike Hayden.
            (3) Leon Panetta.
            (4) John Brennan.
            (5) Thomas Finger.
            (6) Rick Ledgett.
            (7) John McLaughlin.
            (8) Michael Morell.
            (9) Mike Vickers.
            (10) Doug Wise.
            (11) Nick Rasmussen.
            (12) Russ Travers.
            (13) Andy Liepman.
            (14) John Moseman.
            (15) Larry Pfeiffer.
            (16) Jeremy Bash.
            (17) Rodney Snyder.
            (18) Glenn Gerstell.
            (19) David B. Buckley.
            (20) Nada Bakos.
            (21) Patty Brandmaier.
            (22) James B. Bruce.
            (23) David Cariens.
            (24) Janice Cariens.
            (25) Paul Kolbe.
            (26) Peter Corsell.
            (27) Brett Davis.
            (28) Roger Zane George.
            (29) Steven L. Hall.
            (30) Kent Harrington.
            (31) Don Hepburn.
            (32) Timothy D. Kilbourn.
            (33) Ron Marks.
            (34) Jonna Hiestand Mendez.
            (35) Emile Nakhleh.
            (36) Gerald A. O'Shea.
            (37) David Priess.
            (38) Pam Purcilly.
            (39) Marc Polymeropoulos.
            (40) Chris Savos.
            (41) Nick Shapiro.
            (42) John Sipher.
            (43) Stephen Slick.
            (44) Cynthia Strand.
            (45) Greg Tarbell.
            (46) David Terry.
            (47) Greg Treverton.
            (48) John Tullius.
            (49) David A. Vanell.
            (50) Winston Wiley.
            (51) Kristin Wood.
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