House approves bill to close loophole at heart of Attorney firings scandal Josh Catone

Published: Tuesday May 22, 2007 Print This Email This The US House of Representatives today passed a bill that closes a "loophole" that allowed President Bush to circumvent the Senate confirmation process for federal prosecutors. The legislation, authored by Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA), passed the House with a vote of 306-114. It has already cleared the Senate (94-2), and it is expected that Bush will sign it into law. The provision that this legislation will change was inserted into the USA Patriot Act reauthorization last year, and allowed the Attorney General to appoint US Attorneys indefinitely without Senate approval. It came to light after eight US Attorneys were fired late last year. "Congress has spoken, and it is clear that we want accountability. Both the House and Senate have passed legislation to ensure that the Senate confirms every U.S. Attorney," Senator Feinstein said in a statement. "Many unanswered questions remain, including who in the Department of Justice put the names of eight U.S. Attorneys on the list for removal. We will continue this investigation until we flesh out who did what, when, and why." The "Preserving United States Attorney Independence Act of 2007" will restore the provision for appointing replacement prosecutors to the process that was law between 1986 and 2006. Under the new law, the Attorney General will be able to appoint interim prosecutors for 120 days. If the president has not sent a nominee to the Senate for confirmation within that time, the authority to appoint an interim attorney will fall to a district court.



