Who would appoint a Special Counsel?

[NewJeffCT]

If the Senate asks for a Special Counsel to investigate Gonzo for perjury, who does the appointing? Does the Senate, or is that the Solicitor General?

If it's the Senate, who would we want?

This is in response to the other thread about the call for a Special Counsel.

[napi21]

1. Solicitor General Paul Clement.

[NewJeffCT]

2. and is he a Loyal Bushie?

I'm guessing he is, so we will see a Ken Starr...

[MiniMe]

5. I think I heard that he is a straight shooter, even though he is a repuke

If he really looks at the info, a special prosecutor will be appointed.

[Solly Mack]

11. He's a hard charging defender of the "tactics" used in the "war on terror"

http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1073944820670
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4853081/

[L. Coyote]

7. He was nominated by President George W. Bush on March 14, 2005

Paul Drew Clement (born June, 1966) is the current Solicitor General of the United States. He was nominated by President George W. Bush on March 14, 2005, confirmed by the United States Senate on June 8, 2005, and took the oath of office on June 13, 2005. Clement replaced Theodore Olson, who resigned as Solicitor General in July, 2004, and is now a partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, LLP. ...

Clement clerked for Judge Laurence H. Silberman of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and for Associate Justice Antonin Scalia of the U.S. Supreme Court. After his clerkships, he worked as an associate in the Washington, D.C., office of Kirkland & Ellis. Clement went on to serve as Chief Counsel of Subcommittee on the Constitution, Federalism and Property Rights of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. Afterwards, he was a partner in the Washington, D.C., office of King & Spalding ....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Clement
http://www.usdoj.gov/osg/aboutosg/paul_d_clementbio.htm

Someone pasted the DoJ text in Wiki!

[Ian David]

3. Did Bill Clinton ever get his law license back? I'd love for him to be Special Counsel. n/t

[babylonsister]

4. I don't know, but Schumer said they want someone from outside the

Justice Department to avoid any conflicts, someone above reproach. As to who will be doing the selecting, I wish the Senate was, not Gonzo or anyone associated with him.

[babylonsister]

6. Per this, the solicitor general:

http://thinkprogress.org/2007/07/26/special-counsel-gonzo-schumer/

Sens. Charles Schumer, Dianne Feinstein, Russ Feingold, and Sheldon Whitehouse explained in a letter to Solicitor General Paul Clement that “it has become apparent that the Attorney General has provided at a minimum half-truths and misleading statements” to the Judiciary Committee. They wrote:

We ask that you immediately appoint an independent special counsel from outside the Department of Justice to determine whether Attorney General Gonzales may have misled Congress or perjured himself in testimony before Congress.

[Perky]

8. Wasn't there a three Judge Panel??

[L. Coyote]

9. Solicitor General’s Legal Advice To Pres. Bush: Don’t Comply With Subpoenas

He may have to recuse himself, since he is involved in the issue already.

=============
June 28, 2007
Solicitor General’s Legal Advice To Pres. Bush: Don’t Comply With Subpoenas Over U.S. Attorney Firings
http://www.gonzaleswatch.com/2007/06/28/solicitor-generals-legal-advice-to-pres-bush-dont-comply-with-subpoenas-over-us-attorney-firings/

Solicitor General Paul D. Clement advised President Bush yesterday that there was no need for him to comply with subpoenas from the House and Senate seeking documents and testimony from current and former White House staff over the U.S. Attorney firings scandal.

“It is my considered legal judgment that you may assert executive privilege over the subpoenaed documents and testimony,” he advised.

Clement’s rejection of the subpoenas match’s White House Counsel Fred Fielding’s rejection of the subpoenas today (Click here to read Fielding’s letter).

Here are the 8-pages of legal advice and reasoning from Clement to Pres. Bush: .....

[Perky]

10. I am actually fine with that

A) It forces the debate on the limits of Presidential Power
c) sets the stage for a special proecutor,

If this is a non-political issue....then we need a non-politcal solution If we are not going to impeach right now then we need to set an obstruction and perjury trap

[NewJeffCT]

12. and then it would fall to???

who is next in line?