What if DOJ compliance with oversight didn’t hinge on executive discretion?

I watched today’s House Judiciary oversight hearing with AG Pam Bondi There was lots of heat over the Epstein-files release, redactions, and basic cooperation norms.

Regardless of whether you think Dems were grandstanding or Bondi was evasive (or both), it highlighted a bigger structural problem.

When Congress passes transparency/disclosure/oversight mandates that apply to DOJ, actual compliance often ends up depending on executive discretion instead of statutory obligation. That’s a rule-of-law failure that predictably recurs under any administration. The Epstein Files are great example of this as these crimes go back multiple presidencies. This is 30 year failure.

So I started to wonder, what if the DOJ and the AG were independent and insulated? What if they were like the Federal Reserve?

This isn’t about changing criminal law or creating new crimes this is purely governance and insulation against political interference while preserving constitutional accountability.

THE CORE IDEA

DOJ is a statutory creation, but it’s also under direct presidential control via the AG. That concentration of prosecutorial authority becomes a recurring stress fracture when:

- DOJ is investigating politically sensitive matters, and/or

- DOJ is the target of congressional disclosure / transparency requirements.

HOW TO FIX THE DOJ

1. Independent Attorney General (single 6-year term)

- Fixed commencement date.

- Removal only “for cause” via impeachment or supermajority congressional action.

2. Balanced appointment mechanism

- Uses a Judicial Nominating Council concept, still requires Senate confirmation, and includes anti-stall provisions so the job can’t be held hostage indefinitely. President has to signoff on the nominee to satisfy Article II, Section 7 of the Constitution.

3. Protect DOJ leadership and prosecutors

- Insulates component heads.

- Converts U.S. Attorneys into fixed-term officers appointed by the AG (reducing patronage churn and “loyalty tests”).

4. Structural + budgetary integrity

- Prevents executive reorg games or budget manipulation.

- Establishes multi-year appropriations to reduce “compliance by funding threat.”

5. Anti-evasion + continuity safeguards

- “Locks” DOJ structure at enactment and prevents circumvention via reorganization.

I’m not married to the specific mechanisms. I care about the goal, make DOJ compliance with transparency and oversight mandates less dependent on who occupies the White House.