In re Grand Jury Investigation
| Decision Date | 26 February 2019 |
| Docket Number | No. 18-3052,18-3052 |
| Citation | 916 F.3d 1047 |
| Parties | IN RE: GRAND JURY INVESTIGATION |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — District of Columbia Circuit |
Paul D. Kamenar, Washington, DC, argued the cause and filed the briefs for appellant.
James C. Martin, Pittsburgh, PA, argued the cause for amicus curiae Concord Management and Consulting LLC in support of appellant. With him on the briefs were Colin E. Wrabley, Pittsburgh, PA, Eric A. Dubelier, and Katherine J. Seikaly, McLean, VA.
Montgomery Blair Sibley, Corning, NY, was on the brief for amicus curiae Montgomery Blair Sibley in support of appellant.
Michael R. Dreeben, Attorney, U.S. Department of Justice, argued the cause for appellee. With him on the brief were Robert S. Mueller, III, Special Counsel, and Jeannie S. Rhee and Adam C. Jed, Attorneys.
Elizabeth B. Wydra, Washington, DC and Ashwin P. Phatak were on the brief for amici curiae Constitutional and Administrative Law Scholars in support of appellee.
Before: Henderson, Rogers and Srinivasan, Circuit Judges.
Opinion for the court filed by Circuit Judge Rogers.
Andrew Miller appeals an order holding him in contempt for failing to comply with grand jury subpoenas served on him by Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller, III. He contends the Special Counsel's appointment is unlawful under the Appointments Clause of the Constitution, and therefore the contempt order should be reversed. We affirm.
The relevant statutory and regulatory authority relating to the context in which this appeal arises are as follows.
The Attorney General is the head of the Department of Justice ("the Department"). 28 U.S.C. § 503. The Attorney General must be appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate. Id. Congress also created the position of Deputy Attorney General, who also must be appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate. Id. § 504. Congress has "vested" in the Attorney General virtually "[a]ll functions of other officers of the Department," id. § 509, and has empowered the Attorney General to authorize other Department officials to perform the functions of the Attorney General, id. § 510. Congress has also authorized the Attorney General to commission attorneys "specially retained under the authority of the Department" as "special assistant to the Attorney General or special attorney," id. § 515(b), and provided "any attorney specially appointed by the Attorney General under law, may, when specifically directed by the Attorney General, conduct any kind of legal proceeding, civil or criminal ... which United States attorneys are authorized by law to conduct," id. § 515(a). Congress has also provided for the Attorney General to "appoint officials ... to detect and prosecute crimes against the United States." Id. § 533(1). These statutes authorize the Attorney General to appoint special counsels and define their duties. See, e.g. , United States v. Nixon , 418 U.S. 683, 694, 94 S.Ct. 3090, 41 L.Ed.2d 1039 (1974).
At various times, independent counsels within the Department have conducted investigations and instituted criminal prosecutions pursuant to the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 ("the Act"). The Act authorized the appointment of an independent counsel upon a referral of a matter by the Attorney General to a three-judge court that could name an independent counsel. See 28 U.S.C. §§ 591 – 599 (expired). In 1999, shortly before these provisions expired, the Department issued regulations to "replace" the Act with a procedure within the Executive Branch for appointing special counsels. Office of Special Counsel , 64 Fed. Reg. 37,038 (July 9, 1999) ; 28 C.F.R. §§ 600.1 – 600.10. A special counsel is to be afforded wide discretion in the conduct of the investigation while "ultimate responsibility for the matter and how it is handled" resides in the Attorney General. 64 Fed. Reg. at 37,038.
Under Department regulations, the Attorney General establishes the Special Counsel's jurisdiction and determines whether additional jurisdiction is necessary to resolve the assigned matter or matters. 28 C.F.R. § 600.4(a), (b). The Special Counsel is required to "comply with the rules, regulations, procedures, practices and policies of the Department of Justice." Id. § 600.7(a). Additionally, the Id. § 600.7(b). And the Special Counsel must notify the Attorney General of important events in the investigation under the Department's Urgent Reports guidelines. Id. § 600.8(b). The regulations provide that after review the Attorney General may conclude that a contemplated action is "so inappropriate or unwarranted under established Departmental practices that it should not be pursued." Id. § 600.7(b). During review, the Attorney General is to "give great weight" to the views of the Special Counsel. Id.
The regulations also address discipline, removal, and the resources for the Special Counsel's investigation. The Attorney General has authority to discipline and to remove a Special Counsel for "misconduct, dereliction of duty, incapacity, conflict of interest, or for other good cause, including violation of Departmental policies." Id. § 600.7(d). The Attorney General establishes the budget for the Special Counsel's investigation, and is to determine whether the investigation should continue at the end of each fiscal year. Id. § 600.8(a)(1), (a)(2).
The circumstances giving rise to this appeal began on March 2, 2017, when then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself "from any existing or future investigations of any matters related in any way to the campaigns for President of the United States." Press Release No. 17-237, U.S. Dep't of Justice, Attorney General Sessions Statement on Recusal (Mar. 2, 2017). Department regulations provide that "no employee shall participate in a criminal investigation or prosecution if he has a personal or political relationship" with any person "involved in the conduct that is the subject of the investigation or prosecution." 28 C.F.R. § 45.2. Attorney General Sessions announced in a press release that "[c]onsistent with the succession order for the Department of Justice," the then-Acting Deputy Attorney General Dana Boente "shall act as and perform the functions of the Attorney General with respect to any matters from which I have recused myself to the extent they exist." Press Release No. 17-237. During testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence on March 20, 2017, then-Director James Comey confirmed that the Federal Bureau of Investigation ("FBI") was investigating the Russian Government's efforts to interfere in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, including investigating the nature of any links between President Trump's campaign and the Russian Government.
On April 26, 2017, Rod J. Rosenstein was sworn in as Deputy Attorney General. By Appointment Order of May 17, 2017, invoking "the authority vested in me as Acting Attorney General, including 28 U.S.C. §§ 509, 510, and 515," General Rosenstein appointed Robert S. Mueller, III, to serve as Special Counsel for the Department to investigate the Russian Government's efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election and "related matters" and to prosecute any federal crimes uncovered during the investigation. U.S. Dep't of Justice, Off. of Dep. Att'y Gen., Order No. 3915-2017, Appointment of Special Counsel to Investigate Russian Interference With the 2016 Presidential Election and Related Matters (May 17, 2017) ("Appointment Order"). The Appointment Order stated that " Sections 600.4 through 600.10 of Title 28 of the Code of the Federal Regulations" shall apply to the Special Counsel. Id.
Approximately one year later, Special Counsel Mueller issued multiple grand jury subpoenas requiring Andrew Miller to produce documents and to appear before the grand jury. After Miller failed to appear, the Special Counsel moved to compel his testimony and for an order to show cause why Miller should not be held in civil contempt for failure to appear before the grand jury. Miller filed a motion to quash the subpoenas on the ground that the Special Counsel's appointment violated the Appointments Clause of the Constitution, adopting by reference arguments made in a separate case by Concord Management and Consulting LLC ("Concord Management"), which was also being prosecuted by the Special Counsel. The district court denied the motion to quash and held Miller in civil contempt. In re Grand Jury Investigation , 315 F.Supp.3d 602, 667 (D.D.C. 2018).
On appeal, Miller challenges the authority of Special Counsel Mueller on the grounds that his appointment is unlawful under the Appointments Clause because: (1) the Special Counsel is a principal officer who was not appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate; (2) Congress did not "by law" authorize the Special Counsel's appointment; and (3) the Special Counsel was not appointed by a "Head of Department" because the Attorney General's recusal from the subject matter of the Special Counsel's investigation did not make the Deputy Attorney General the Acting Attorney General. This court's review is de novo . See Recording Indus. Ass'n of America v. Verizon Internet Servs., Inc. , 351 F.3d 1229, 1233 (D.C. Cir. 2003).
The Appointments Clause in Article II states:
[The President] shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.
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