Ric Keller: “Mr. Speaker, prior to 1986, the district court appointed interim U.S. attorneys to fill vacancies until a replacement…”

“Mr. Speaker, prior to 1986, the district court appointed interim U.S. attorneys to fill vacancies until a replacement could be nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate. In 1986, the process was changed to authorize the Attorney General to appoint an interim U.S. attorney for 120 days. After 120 days, the district court would appoint an interim to serve until the Senate confirmed a permanent replacement. Last year, Congress addressed concerns that allowing the judiciary to appoint the prosecutors before their court created a conflict of interest. The PATRIOT Act reauthorization eliminated the 120-day time limit for an executive-appointed interim to serve, and eliminated the authority for the district court to appoint an interim. S. 214 returns the authority of the judiciary to appoint interim U.S. attorneys if a permanent replacement is not confirmed within 120 days. Mr. Speaker, it is fairly obvious that the motivation behind this legislation was the dismissal of several U.S. attorneys earlier this year. Congress has been investigating the circumstances surrounding those dismissals for several months now. Notwithstanding the heated political rhetoric from some of my colleagues, this investigation has turned up no evidence of criminal wrongdoing or obstruction of justice.”