[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 23]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 31549]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




   INTRODUCTION OF THE TRANSPARENCY IN CORPORATE MONITORS ACT OF 2009

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                            HON. STEVE COHEN

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, December 11, 2009

  Mr. COHEN. Madam Speaker, today I am pleased to introduce legislation 
today that will provide guidance and prevent abuse in the appointment 
of corporate monitors to implement deferred and nonprosecution 
agreements.
  Last Congress, the Judiciary Subcommittee on Commercial and 
Administrative Law led the charge against the politicization of United 
States Attorneys' Offices in the last Administration. Additionally, 
both last year and this year, the Subcommittee held hearings on 
deferred and nonprosecution agreements in criminal cases against 
corporate defendants, and the selection of corporate monitors to 
implement those agreements. Those hearings, as well as recent press 
articles, revealed the need for guidelines to govern the appointment of 
corporate monitors in these cases.
  The Government's use of deferred and nonprosecution agreements as a 
prosecutorial tool with respect to corporate defendants has grown 
exponentially in recent years. Unfortunately, the selection and use of 
corporate monitors to implement those agreements has been tainted by a 
disturbing lack of guidance, and even more troubling indications of 
abuse.
  In one case, a former U.S. Attorney--Christopher Christie--selected 
former Attorney General John Ashcroft to serve as a corporate monitor, 
for which Mr. Ashcroft collected fees of up to $52 million. The 
circumstances surrounding his appointment and service as a monitor were 
not made public at the time of his selection and other than the 
hearings the Commercial and Administrative Law Subcommittee held on the 
issue--no provision was ever made for oversight or accountability 
concerning Mr. Ashcroft's selection or performance as a monitor.
  To prevent such reckless abuse from taking place in the future, I 
have introduced legislation that will prohibit United States attorneys 
and assistant United States attorneys from acting as or working for 
corporate monitors for specified periods after their service with the 
Government terminates. This legislation will provide accountability, 
transparency, and uniformity in the appointment of corporate monitors 
to implement deferred and nonprosecution agreements.
  Public trust and confidence are essential elements of an effective 
justice system--our laws and their enforcement must not only be fair, 
but they must also be perceived as fair. The perception of unfairness 
and favoritism undermines governmental authority in the justice 
process. My legislation will help restore fairness and rebuild trust in 
our public process.

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