AG is top law enforcement officer. The fact that Trump hires does not mean he is the top law enforcement officer.
The Andrew Jackson Jewel Saga
“If it should be said that, the District Attorney having the power to discontinue the prosecution, there is no necessity for inferring a right in the President to direct him to exercise it—I answer that the direction of the President is not required to communicate any new authority to the District Attorney, but to direct him in the execution of a power he is admitted to possess. The most valuable and proper measure may often be for the President to order the District Attorney to discontinue prosecution.
The District Attorney might refuse to obey the President’s order; and if he did refuse, the prosecution, while he remained in office, would still go on; because the President himself could give no order to the court or to the clerk to make any particular entry. He could only act through his subordinate officer, the District Attorney, who is responsible to him and who holds his office at his pleasure. And if that officer still continues a prosecution which the President is satisfied ought not to continue, the removal of the disobedient officer and the substitution of one more worthy in his place would enable the President through him faithfully to execute the law. And it is for this among other reasons that the power of removing the District Attorney resides in the President.’’
B Wyman The Principles of the Administrative Law Governing the Relations of Public Officers
Btw the person who wrote that became a Supreme Court Justice...the CHief Justice
The AG derives his power from the President and the Constitution. The President is both the head of state and head of government of the United States of America, and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces.
Under Article II of the Constitution, the President is responsible for the execution and enforcement of the laws created by Congress.
Article II Section 1, Clause 1: The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America.
Article II Section 3, he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed,
Congress passed the Judiciary Act of 1789 which, among other things, established the Office of the Attorney General. The original duties of this officer were "to prosecute and conduct all suits in the Supreme Court in which the United States shall be concerned, and to give his advice and opinion upon questions of law when required by the President of the United States, or when requested by the heads of any of the departments".
The Department of Justice was established in 1870 to support the Attorneys General in the discharge of their responsibilities.
The bottom line is that the President is the head of the Executive Branch. He was elected to that position, unlike other members of the Executive Branch except for the Vice President. He appoints the AG subject to the confirmation of the Senate. The AG works for the President and serves at his discretion. The President also has the power of the pardon.
Sorry, RummyChick, youre wrong. The Attorney General has no existence in the Constitution, none. The United States Attorney General (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, the chief lawyer of the federal government of the United States, and a member of the Cabinet of the United States. He only serves at the pleasure of the President and the POWER the AG has derives from the powers of the President which were granted by the people to the President through the Constitution.
The Constitution of The United States of America
Article. II.
Section. 1.The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America.
The power of the entire executive branch of our government derives from one, unitary person, the occupant of the Office of the President. He delegates his power, shares it with his deputies in order to do his job better. . . one of whom is the Attorney General to whom the President has delegated some of his Presidential law enforcement powers. The only power the AG has, and any his deputies have, derives from that which the President has innately via the Constitution and does not lose by sharing it with them.
Harry Truman grasped this concept well.
He knew who was boss! Who had the authority! But most importantly, who had the ultimate responsibility. Its on the Presidents shoulders, not his subordinates.
You mistake the control of the case. The Prosecution can withdraw prosecution of a case at anytime in the interests of justice. The judge cannot continue if prosecutors say we have erred, our case was mistaken, our evidence flawed, or our witnesses lied. Just because a jury convicted on falsely presented prosecution, the judge cannot take over the case and proceed on her own. It still requires the cooperation of the executive, the prosecution, law enforcement, to proceed.
You may disagree with these facts, but the Constitution disagrees with you.
The District Attorney might refuse to obey the Presidents order; and if he did refuse, the prosecution, while he remained in office, would still go on; because the President himself could give no order to the court or to the clerk to make any particular entry.
Assuming were discussing a Federal Court, the President could order the removal and arrest of your hypothetical DA who refused the lawful direction of his superior, the President, because that DA is a subordinate of the President, and Federal Attorneys, or their Direct decision making superior who has control of every case on the district serves at the pleasure of the President, and is not an employee of the Court. Obama when he took office, fired all federal district attorneys and replaced them with his leftist sycophants. Trump, to his regret did not, but should have. They are all political appointees.
It is stunning how many so-called lawyers dont grasp these concepts.
He has an opinion, does that confer power or is it still just an opinion?