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POLITICS AND PROSECUTION
The Attorney General comes under fire from congressional Republicans August 12, 1998 |
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Questions asked
in this forum:
Is the problem with Janet Reno or with the wording of the independent counsel statute? How could Reno be accused of protecting the president? Why is it so difficult for Reno to provide Congress the Justice Department's internal memo about appointing an independent counsel? Is there any credible reason why Janet Reno would not appoint an independent prosecutor? Is the move to cite the attorney general for contempt justifiable?
Jared L. of Boston, MA, asks: Is the problem with Janet Reno or with the wording of the independent counsel statute? Michael Carvin, former Justice Department official during the Reagan administration, responds:
The statute is quite straightforward. The attorney general shall appoint an independent counsel if there is credible information of a crime by a covered person, i.e., a high ranking official of the government or the president's re-election campaign. She may do so if there is a political conflict of interest. Both standards seem clearly to be met here.Doug Kmiec, professor of law at Pepperdine Law School, responds:
It's a bit of both. As a matter of legal policy, the statute has far too low a threshold. It triggers investigation of both the trivial and the profound. The problem is -- the statute does not allow the public to gauge which is which. The trigger for investigation is reasonable grounds to further investigate. These almost always exist. The threshold ought to be at least evidence of clear and convincing evidence that a crime has been committed and a clear-eyed assessment that proof beyond a reasonable doubt either is in hand or will be forthcoming in an investigation.
But Janet Reno must enforce the law as written, even if it is a bad one. Here, she is in disregard of her obligations to take care that the laws are faithfully executed -- something the Constitution imposes directly on the executive branch, and especially the chief law enforcement officer of the nation.
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