Should Special Counsels’ Staff be Prohibited From Making Political Donations? (H.R. 4197)
Do you support or oppose this bill?
What is H.R. 4197?
(Updated October 10, 2019)
This bill would place limitations on potential staffers for special counsels, and also place limitations on the types of federal employment that a special counsel’s staffers may hold after leaving the office of a special counsel. To work on the staff of a special counsel, or advise a special counsel, an individual could not make contributions to political candidates or political parties while employed by the special counsel. Before being hired to the staff of a special counsel, an individual would have to sign a statement that they haven’t made a contribution to a political candidate or party within an eight-year period ending on the date they’d begin their employment with the special counsel.
For five years after the end of their employment by a special counsel, an individual couldn’t be employed in any federal executive branch office, or in a position within the civil service other than a previously held position within the competitive service in the Department of Justice.
Argument in favor
Special counsels’ staff should be impartial and non-partisan — restricting their political donations is reasonable. Furthermore, restricting special counsels’ staffers from employment in the executive branch or DOJ positions they did not previously hold removes Presidents’ abilities to bribe or influence these individuals by offering them future employment.
Argument opposed
It is overly strict to require special counsels’ staffers to not have made political contributions for eight years prior to beginning their employment with a special counsel. This requirement could disqualify the best candidates from working for a special counsel or deter others from considering employment with a special counsel who could’ve qualified.
Impact
Staffers to special counsels; special counsels; and the Department of Justice.
Cost of H.R. 4197
A CBO cost estimate for this bill is unavailable.
Additional Info
In-Depth: Rep. Bill Posey (R-FL) introduced this bill to create qualifications for staffs of special counsels, and to limit their federal employment after working on a special counsel’s staff.
There are no cosponsors of this bill.
Of Note: The issue of special counsel staff’s political impartiality while involved in politically-charged investigations has come under significant scrutiny in the context of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of President Trump.
Peter Strzok, an FBI senior counterintelligence agent who spoke poorly of President Trump in text messages to another member of the Mueller team, and who oversaw the Hillary Clinton email and Russia investigations, was fired in August 2018 for violating bureau policies.
Prior to Mr. Strzok’s firing, President Trump and his allies called the texts evidence that the Mueller investigation overall was an illegitimate “witch hunt,” and the FBI’s Office of Professional Responsibility said that he should be suspended for 60 days and demoted for improper conduct in sending the texts. With that said, the inspector general found no evidence that Mr. Strzok or Lisa Page, with whom he exchanged the texts in question, imposed their political views on their investigations.
Currently, all members of Robert Mueller’s team have the legal right to register to vote with a party, or to make personal donations to a party. These political activities are protected under the Hatch Act, originally passed in 1939. Of the members of Mueller’s staff with known political affiliations, at least 12 are registered Democrats, two are registered to vote without party affiliations, and Mueller himself is a registered Republican.
Both Justice Department policy and the Civil Service Reform Act “prohibit using political affiliation and may also prohibit using certain ideological affiliations in hiring and taking other personnel actions with regard to career attorneys.” Additionally, attorneys as a group as bound by professional codes to pursue justice and rise above partisanship. Furthermore, all federal employees — including all staff of a special counsel — swear an oath to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States" and "bear true faith and allegiance to the same." Lawyers practicing in federal courts swear and additional, separate oath "that as an attorney and as a counselor of this court, I will conduct myself uprightly and according to law, and that I will support the Constitution of the United States."
Media:
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Axios (via Countable) (Context)
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Fox News (Context)
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New York TImes (Context)
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Politifact (Context)
Summary by Lorelei Yang
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