118 HR 4807 IH: Deep State Accountability Act of 2023
U.S. House of Representatives
2023-07-20
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EN
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I
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4807
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.
1.

Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Deep State Accountability Act of 2023”.
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.
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.
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.