No. of Recommendations: 5
My biggest concern is loyalty. Of course ALL presidents value loyalty. That’s a given. But does that loyalty come before loyalty to country and Constitution or does loyalty to country and Constitution take precedence over loyalty to an individual?
An interesting question....but what do you think "loyalty to country and Constitution" requires?
Nothing in the Constitution speaks specifically to the Department of Justice. The AG isn't mentioned in the text, and there's nothing in the document that even requires that such a department exist. It is entirely a creature of statute.
DOJ is not an independent agency. Legally, it's structured just like all the other "normal" cabinet agencies. The tradition of independents for DOJ and the AG is just that - a tradition. The President can - and very arguably should - treat the DOJ as having a measure of independence and give their AG appointment space to pursue law enforcement independently. But there's no legal requirement to do so. The Congress seriously considered making DOJ an independent agency after Watergate, but chose not to - at a time when such a move was clearly politically possible, if there was desire to do it.
It's not abundantly clear that the AG owes the "country and Constitution" any obligation other than to follow the law. If the President determines that the AG is supposed to follow the direction of the President to the same extent as any other cabinet agency head, that's within his purview. It's a political decision within the scope of the decisions the President is allowed to make. It may be an unpopular decision, and one that can cost the President support and perhaps lead to conflicts with Congress - including perhaps efforts to force the AG to act independently, either by suasion or changing the DOJ statutes. But it is a decision that lies within the President's general Executive authority.....and probably isn't up to the AG to decide for herself.
