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Congressional ______
*Research Service
The Special Counsel Investigation After the
Attorney General's Resignation
January 2, 2019
Recent Department of Justice (DOJ) leadership changes have raised questions about their impact on the
special counsel investigation into Russian interference with the 2016 presidential election and related
matters. Who will oversee the investigation? How do personnel changes affect the investigation? What
are Congress's possible roles in this matter? Before his resignation, former Attorney General Jeff Sessions
had recused himself from the inquiry with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein serving as Acting
Attorney General for the investigation. With President Trump's designation of Matthew G. Whitaker as
Acting Attorney General pending Senate consideration of his nominee for Attorney General, supervision
of the special counsel investigation may change in the coming months, possibly impacting ongoing
litigation regarding the special counsel s authority. This Sidebar examines how DOJ leadership changes
may interplay with the special counsel investigation.
Authority to Oversee the Special Counsel's Investigation
In 1999, pursuant to its general authority to promulgate departmental regulations, DOJ issued the current
special counsel regulations, which expressly vest authority to initiate special counsel investigations in
[t]he Attorney General, or in cases in which the Attorney General is recused, the Acting Attorney
General. Thus, as the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has affirmed, the Attorney General
has authority over special counsel investigations but, if he recuses, the Acting Attorney General has
authority. That authority includes review of particular aspects of the investigation; review and approval
of the special counsel's annual budget requests; and sole authority to discipline or remove the special
counsel for good cause.
The exercise of such supervisory authority, however, is subject to congressional oversight. When DOJ
promulgated the rules, it acknowledged that they were an imperfect solution to actual or apparent
conflicts that may arise if the executive branch has to investigate its own officials. Accordingly, the
Attorney General must report certain information to the Chairmen and Ranking Members of the Judiciary
Committees of Congress, including explanations of appointments, removals, and decisions directing the
special counsel not to pursue particular actions. The regulations, however, give the Attorney General
discretion over whether to release the special counsel's confidential report when the inquiry concludes.
Congressional Research Service
https://crsreports.congress.gov
LSB10237
CRS Legal Sidebar
Prepared for Members and
Committees of Congress](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.crs/govyxp0001&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)