,i  #aaith ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #haed  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,march #bg1 #bjbf,ms4
 ,stevens introduced the following bill2
 which was referred to the ,committee on
 the ,judiciary  ,a ,,bill  ,to provide 
for the appointment of a special        
prosecutor to investigate any unlawful  
action by any officer or employee of the
 ,department of ,homeland ,security     
taken on or after ,january #bj1 #bjbe4  
#a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited
 as the ,hold ,,ice ,accountable ,act of
 #bjbf4  #b4 ,appointment of ,special   
,prosecutor  7a7 ,panel ,following an   
application from the ,attorney ,general 
or any of the attorneys general         
representing any of the several ,states1
 the ,district of ,columbia1 or any     
territory or possession of the ,united  
,states1 the chief judge of the ,u4,s4  
,court of ,appeals for the ,district of 
,columbia ,circuit shall appoint1 not   
later than #cj days after the date of   
the submission of the application1 a    

three judge panel to appoint a special  
prosecutor with the authority to        
investigate any action by any officer or
 employee of the ,department of         
,homeland ,security that--  7#a7        
occurred on or after ,january #bj1      
#bjbe2  7#b7 is alleged to be unlawful2 
and  7#c7 is deemed credible by the     
special prosecutor4  7b7 ,appointment   
,the special prosecutor shall be        
appointed not later than #cj days after 
the panel under subsection 7a7 is       
appointed from among individuals who are
 lawyers--  7#a7 with reputations for   
integrity and impartial decision-making2
  7#b7 with appropriate experience to   
ensure both that any investigation will 
be conducted ably1 expeditiously and    
thoroughly1 and that each investigative 
and prosecutorial decision will be      
supported by an informed understanding  
of ,federal criminal law and ,department
 of ,justice policies2  7#c7 who are not
 employed by the ,united ,states        
,government in any capacity1 and who do 

not have the ,united ,states as a       
client2 and  7#d7 who have not been     
employed by the ,united ,states         
,government in any capacity1 and who    
have not had the ,united ,states as a   
client on or after ,january #bj1 #bjbe4 
7c7 ,background check ,the panel shall  
ensure that1 prior to appointment1 the  
special prosecutor undergoes an         
appropriate background investigation and
 a detailed review of ethical conduct   
and conflicts of interest4  #c4         
,staffing  7a7 ,in general ,a special   
prosecutor appointed under section #b   
may appoint the legal1 administrative1  
and support personnel necessary to      
perform the functions of the special    
prosecutor4 ,any appointment made       
pursuant to this subsection1 shall not  
be subject to the approval or           
supervision of any other office or      
agency4  7b7 ,applicability of certain  
civil service laws ,the staff appointed 
under subsection 7a7 shall be paid in   
accordance with the provisions of       

chapter #ea and subchapter ,,iii of     
chapter #ec of that title relating to   
classification and ,general ,schedule   
pay rates4  7c7 ,discipline ,staff      
appointed by the special prosecutor     
shall be subject to disciplinary action 
by the special prosecutor for misconduct
 and breach of ethical duties under the 
same standards and to the same extent as
 are employees of the ,department of    
,justice1 as determined by the special  
prosecutor in accordance with law4  7d7 
,staff removal ,the staff appointed     
under subsection 7a7 shall not be       
subject to removals1 reassignments1     
reductions in force1 or similar actions 
by anyone but the special prosecutor4   
#d4 ,powers of the office  7a7 ,in      
general ,a special prosecutor appointed 
under section #b shall exercise1 within 
the scope of the jurisdiction of that   
special prosecutor under section #b1 the
 full power and independent authority to
 exercise all investigative and         
prosecutorial functions of any ,united  

,states ,attorney4  7b7 ,jurisdiction   
,the jurisdiction of a special          
prosecutor as established under section 
#b shall also include the authority to  
investigate and prosecute ,federal      
crimes committed in the course of1 and  
with intent to interfere with1 the      
special prosecutor 's investigation1    
including perjury1 obstruction of       
justice1 destruction of evidence1 and   
intimidation of witnesses2 and to       
conduct appeals arising out of the      
matter being investigated or prosecuted4
  7c7 ,relation to the ,department of   
,justice ,a special prosecutor shall    
independently comply with the rules1    
regulations1 procedures1 practices1 and 
policies of the ,department of ,justice1
 shall be allowed to operate free from  
undue influence or improper direction   
from any official of the ,department of 
,justice1 and shall not be subject to   
the day-to-day supervision of any       
official of the ,department4 ,the       
special prosecutor shall determine      

whether and to what extent to inform or 
consult with the ,attorney ,general or  
others within the ,department of        
,justice about the conduct of the office
 of special prosecutor4  7d7 ,reporting 
and ,congressional oversight  7#a7 ,a   
special prosecutor appointed under this 
chapter may make public from time to    
time1 and shall send to the ,congress   
statements or reports on the activities 
of such special prosecutor4 ,these      
statements and reports shall contain    
such information as such special        
prosecutor deems appropriate4  7#b7 ,the
 ,committees on the ,judiciary of the   
,house of ,representatives and of the   
,senate shall have oversight            
jurisdiction with respect to the        
official conduct of any special         
prosecutor appointed under this chapter1
 and such special prosecutor shall have 
the duty to cooperate with the exercise 
of such oversight jurisdiction4  7#c7   
#ij days before the beginning of each   
fiscal year after the appointment of a  

special prosecutor under section #b1 the
 special prosecutor shall report in     
camera to the three judge panel referred
 to in such section on the status of    
each investigation4  7#d7 ,the three    
judge panel may release to the          
,congress1 the public1 or to any        
appropriate person1 such portions of a  
report made under this subsection as the
 division deems appropriate as          
consistent with law4 ,the division of   
the court shall make such orders as are 
appropriate to protect the rights of any
 individual named in such report and to 
prevent undue interference with any     
pending prosecution4  7#e7 ,when the    
special prosecutor concludes their      
investigation1 the special prosecutor   
shall provide the ,attorney ,general1   
the three judge panel1 and the ,chairman
 and ,ranking ,minority ,member of the  
,committees on the ,judiciary of the    
,house of ,representatives and of the   
,senate with a confidential report      
explaining each decision of the special 

prosecutor as to whether or not to      
prosecute an alleged offense4  #e4      
,removal  7a7 ,in general ,a special    
prosecutor appointed under section #b   
may only be removed from office by the  
,attorney ,general4  7b7 ,standard for  
removal  7#a7 ,in general ,the ,attorney
 ,general may only remove a special     
prosecutor appointed under section #b   
for good cause1 physical disability1    
mental incapacity1 or any other         
condition that substantially impairs the
 performance of such independent        
counsel's duties4 ,the ,attorney        
,general shall inform the special       
prosecutor in writing of the specific   
reason for removal4  7#b7 ,report on    
removal ,if a special prosecutor is     
removed from office1 the ,attorney      
,general shall promptly submit to the   
three judge panel and the ,committees on
 the ,judiciary of the ,senate and the  
,house of ,representatives a report     
specifying the facts found and the      
ultimate grounds for such removal4 ,the 

committees shall make available to the  
public such report1 except that each    
committee may1 if necessary to protect  
the rights of any individual named in   
the report or to prevent undue          
interference with any pending           
prosecution1 redact or postpone         
publishing any or all of the report with
 the unanimous approval of the three    
judge panel4  7c7 ,review ,upon petition
 by a special prosecutor removed by the 
,attorney ,general1 such removal shall  
be reviewed for compliance with section 
#e7;b77#a7 not later than #cj days after
 the filing of the petition by the      
,united ,states ,district ,court for the
 ,district of ,columbia4 ,either party  
may appeal within #cj days and be       
subject to expedited review4 ,if such   
removal was based on error of law or    
fact1 the court may reinstate the       
special prosecutor4  #f4 ,civil         
liability  7a7 ,in general ,any party   
deprived of his rights1 privileges1 or  
immunities secured by the ,constitution 

and laws of the ,united ,states as a    
result of the actions for which an      
individual is indicted by the special   
prosecutor established in this ,act may 
bring a civil action against that       
individual in the appropriate district  
court of the ,united ,states4  7b7      
,damages ,damages available pursuant to 
such action may include--  7#a7         
compensatory damages1 including all     
economic damages associated with the    
deprivation of rights1 privileges1 or   
immunities2  7#b7 non-economic damages  
for emotional distress and pain and     
suffering2 and  7#c7 punitive damages1  
if the party proves by clear and        
convincing evidence that the defendant  
against whom punitive damages are sought
 acted maliciously1 intentionally1      
fraudulently1 or recklessly4  7c7 ,bar  
on qualified immunity ,any individual   
alleged to be liable in a civil action  
under subsection 7a7 may not invoke a   
defense or immunity in any action that--
  7#a7 the defendant was acting in good 

faith1 or that the defendant believed1  
reasonably or otherwise1 that his or her
 conduct was lawful at the time when the
 conduct was committed2 or  7#b7 the    
rights1 privileges1 or immunities       
secured by the ,constitution and laws   
were not clearly established at the time
 of their deprivation by the defendant1 
or that at such time1 the state of the  
law was otherwise such that the         
defendant could not reasonably have been
 expected to know whether his or her    
conduct was lawful4  #g4 ,authorization 
of appropriations ,there are authorized 
to be appropriated such sums as may be  
necessary to carry out this ,act4       
,amounts made available in              
appropriations ,acts in accordance with 
this section shall be available to a    
special prosecutor appointed under      
section #b for a period of #e fiscal    
years4  #h ,severability ,should any    
provision in this ,act be found to be   
unconstitutional by a court of law1 such
 provision shall be severed from the    

remainder of the ,act1 and such action  
shall not affect the enforceability of  
the remaining provisions of the ,act4