Attorney generals serve as top law enforcement officials and attorneys for their government, being members of Cabinet that can be removed by President, but how exactly is an AG removed?
Merrick Garland’s conduct as attorney general requires impeachment and trial. His actions undermine democracy and self-governance while also undermining the rule of law.
Impeachment
United States law permits impeachment as a method for ousting an attorney general from office, with civil officers impeachable for acts such as “treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors”. The impeachment process follows similar lines to impeaching a President; wherein both houses vote on bills of impeachment before moving onto Senate trials for conviction with 2/3 majority vote required to confirm conviction.
Paxton was first impeached by the Republican-led state House of Representatives, which then decided to convene a trial before convicting or dismissing him on any of 16 articles of impeachment against him.
Senators will hear arguments from both sides and the trial could last up to one month or longer. Although held publicly, Angela Paxton (Ken’s wife) will not vote due to an inherent conflict of interest. If found guilty on all 16 articles he would be forced to step down.
Resignation
Eric Schneiderman’s resignation on Monday caused an upheaval in New York politics, setting in motion state lawmakers’ selection of his replacement; they are almost certain to pick a Democrat but this doesn’t guarantee they’ll select someone capable of winning in November.
Holder made headlines last week by promising that law enforcement officers won’t use their authority “to profile people based on race, ethnicity or religion,” prompting throngs of Americans from across the nation to gather in cities across the United States to protest police violence and systemic racism. His resignation comes days after Holder announced steps would be taken to ensure this doesn’t occur and amid protests across America over police violence and systemic racism.
Holder was well known for fighting corruption and upholding civil rights. As Obama’s top law-enforcement official, Holder made headlines for denouncing President Donald Trump’s false allegations of widespread voter fraud in his election defeat campaign. Holder decided to leave before any impeachment proceedings could take place in Congress.
Removal by the President
The president is granted wide authority under the Constitution to remove those performing “purely executive functions.” While this power has been exercised before, there may be exceptions that require further discussion.
Trump reportedly had Berman dismissed for refusing to take steps to curtail Mueller’s probe and indictments of associates of Giuliani – all signs that his removal signified the administration’s intention of muzzling the independent spirit of the Justice Department.
Constitutionally speaking, however, the Attorney General is not an officer of the President; rather, he or she serves the American people and heads up Justice Department as an impartial civil servant appointed and confirmed by both Houses of Congress.
Removal by the Senate
Senate members have the power to remove fellow senators who have been found guilty of impeachable offenses such as bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors; however, such removal is relatively uncommon, with only five Representatives and 15 Senators having had their positions taken away so far.
Regulation also specifies that violations of Justice Department policies could constitute sufficient grounds for dismissing an independent counsel, similar to what Congress suggested when they proposed amending the 1994 Reauthorization of Independent Counsel Act by adding language that stated good cause for removal may include failing to adhere to written Justice Department guidelines and violating canons of ethics.
Paxton currently faces multiple articles of impeachment, with three related to an alleged securities fraud case in which investors claim he encouraged them to invest in technology companies owned by his firm. A trial for that matter is set for 2022; yet despite his legal woes he remains popular within Texas’ hard-right Republican district.
