Full opinion text
BERYL A. HOWELL, Chief Judge Table of Contents I. BACKGROUND...612 A. Historical Background...612 B. Statutory Background...617 C. The Special Counsel Regulations...618 D. The Special Counsel's Appointment...620 E. The Subpoenas at Issue...622 II. LEGAL STANDARD...624 III. DISCUSSION...624 A. The Witness's Second Motion to Quash is Timely...625 B. The Special Counsel is an Inferior Officer...626 1. The Attorney General's Authority to Direct and Supervise a Special Counsel...627 a. The Attorney General Has Plenary Statutory Power of Direction and Supervision...629 b. The Attorney General Retains Broad Authority Under The Regulations to Direct and Supervise a Special Counsel...631 2. The Other Morrison Factors All Weigh Toward Inferior Officer Status...640 a. Limited Duties...640 b. Limited Jurisdiction...643 c. Limited Tenure...643 3. Inferior Officer Status Does Not Turn on the Significance of an Officer's Duties and Functions...644 C. Congress By Law Vested the Special Counsel's Appointment in the Attorney General...651 1. 28 U.S.C. § 533(1)...652 2. 28 U.S.C. § 515(b)...654 3. No Clear Statement Rule Regarding Inferior Officers' Appointment Exists...658 4. Congress's Enactment of Special Counsel Statutes for Specific Purposes Casts No Doubt on the Attorney General's Authority to Appoint the Special Counsel...660 D. The Special Counsel Was Validly Appointed By a Head of Department...662 1. 28 U.S.C. § 508(a) Allows the DAG to Serve as Acting Attorney General Where the Attorney General is Recused...662 2. 28 U.S.C. § 510 Allows the Attorney General to Delegate to the DAG Authority to Appoint the Special Counsel...666 IV. CONCLUSION...667 MEMORANDUM OPINION This matter comes before the Court on a second motion by a grand jury witness to quash subpoenas issued by the Special Counsel to provide testimony and documents to the grand jury as part of the ongoing investigation into Russian interference with the 2016 presidential election, and related matters, with which the Special Counsel was tasked. This time, the witness seeks to quash the grand jury subpoenas on the grounds that the Special Counsel lacks authority to issue the subpoenas as his appointment is unconstitutional, in violation of the Appointments Clause. "[T]he Appointments Clause was designed to ensure public accountability for both the making of a bad appointment and the rejection of a good one." Edmond v. United States , 520 U.S. 651, 660, 117 S.Ct. 1573, 137 L.Ed.2d 917 (1997) ; see also Lucia v. SEC , --- U.S. ----, 138 S.Ct. 2044, 2055, --- L.Ed.2d ---- (2018) (Thomas, J., concurring) ("[T]he Appointments Clause maintains clear lines of accountability-encouraging good appointments and giving the public someone to blame for bad ones."). The exercise of prosecutorial power, just like the exercise of other forms of government authority, is ultimately accountable to elected officials. Federal prosecutors are granted broad authority under our laws to choose their targets and pursue their investigations. As former Attorney General Robert H. Jackson stated, "[t]he prosecutor has more control over life, liberty, and reputation than any other person in America. His discretion is tremendous." Robert H. Jackson, The Federal Prosecutor, Address at Conference of United States Attorneys (Apr. 1, 1940). Such power, left unchecked, is susceptible to abuse. "Under our system of government, the primary check against prosecutorial abuse is a political one." Morrison v. Olson , 487 U.S. 654, 728, 108 S.Ct. 2597, 101 L.Ed.2d 569 (1988) (Scalia, J., dissenting). Prosecutors must wield broad powers to investigate effectively criminal activity, but elected officials must exercise sufficient control over prosecutors, principally by setting boundaries in law, to enable the public to know who to credit or blame for exercises of prosecutorial authority. Here, the witness essentially argues that the Special Counsel wields too much power with too little accountability. Specifically, the witness contends that the Special Counsel was appointed unlawfully, under the Appointments Clause of the Constitution, U.S. CONST. art. II, § 2, cl. 2, because (1) the Special Counsel is a principal rather than inferior officer, and thus was required to be nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate; (2) no statute authorized the Special Counsel's appointment, as the Constitution requires; and (3) the Department of Justice official who appointed the Special Counsel lacked authority to do so. The witness raises legitimate questions, but his concerns are not legally sustainable. The scope of the Special Counsel's power falls well within the boundaries the Constitution permits, as the Special Counsel is supervised by an official who is himself accountable to the elected President. The witness's remaining arguments fare no better. Multiple statutes authorize the Special Counsel's appointment, and the official who appointed the Special Counsel had power to do so. For these reasons, explained in further detail below, the witness's motion to quash the grand jury subpoenas is denied. I. BACKGROUND Consideration of the constitutional and statutory issues the witness raises benefits from review of the historical development of the Attorney General's authority to direct and supervise the federal government's law enforcement responsibilities, and to appoint attorneys to assist him in this task. Following this is an overview of relevant statutes and the internal Department of Justice Special Counsel regulations. Finally, the circumstances surrounding the Special Counsel's appointment, as well as the events giving rise to the instant dispute, are recounted. A. Historical Background The Attorney General did not always possess the centralized authority he enjoys today to direct the United States's law enforcement and litigation responsibilities. Rather, such authority developed and expanded over time. The Judiciary Act of 1789 created the office of Attorney General, who was authorized- 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, touching any matters that may concern their departments. An Act to Establish the Judicial Courts of the United States ("Judiciary Act"), ch. 20, § 35, 1 Stat. 73, 93 (1789). Edmund Randolph, the first United States Attorney General appointed by the first President, George Washington, had neither clerical staff nor office space, and had to write out "[a]ll his opinions, letters, and briefs ... in his own hand." Sewell Key, The Legal Work of the Federal Government , 25 VA. L. REV. 165, 176 (1939). The Judiciary Act also provided for the appointment in each district of a district attorney, later to be known as U.S. Attorney, "learned in the law to act as attorney for the United States in such district ... whose duty it shall be to prosecute in such district all delinquents for crimes and offences, cognizable under the authority of the United States, and all civil actions in which the United States shall be concerned, except before the supreme court in the district in which that court shall be holden." Judiciary Act § 35. The Act gave the Attorney General "no supervisory control over" the district attorneys, who "functioned independently" and could be directed only by the President. United States v. Hawthorne , 449 F.Supp. 1048, 1051 (S.D. Cal. 1978), aff'd , 626 F.2d 87 (9th Cir. 1980). The Act thus "created a system in which the Attorney General was specifically authorized to represent the United States only in judicial proceedings which took place in the Supreme Court," the district attorneys having exclusive "[p]ower to initiate federal criminal prosecutions, including the right to appear before a grand jury." Id. Indeed, "[s]ince the Attorney General was required to appear only in the Supreme Court, there was doubt about his ability to appear in other courts" at all. In re Persico , 522 F.2d 41, 53 (2d Cir. 1975). The result was that "prior to the Civil War, federal prosecutorial efforts were almost completely decentralized, with authority vested in the hands of local United States Attorneys." Id. In 1861, prompted by "[t]he crisis of the Civil War," id. , Congress began to concentrate federal litigation authority in the Attorney General, giving him "general superintendence and direction of the attorneys ... of all the districts in the United States and the Territories as to the manner of discharging their respective duties." An Act Concerning the Attorney-General and the Attorneys and Marshals of the Several Districts ("DA Act"), ch. 37, 12 Stat. 285, 285 (1861). The Act also required the district attorneys "to report to the Attorney-General an account of their official proceedings, and the state and condition of their respective offices." Id. Finally, the Act authorized the Attorney General "to employ and retain (in the name of the United States) such attorneys and counsellors-at-law as he may think necessary to assist the district-attorneys in the discharge of their duties." Id. § 2. With the DA Act, the Attorney General could for the first time both direct the district attorneys' work and hire attorneys. The Attorney General's hiring authority, however, was limited to hiring attorneys to "assist the district attorneys." Id. The Attorney General still lacked attorneys under his own immediate control and was required instead to rely on the district attorneys and their assistants to execute his directives. In addition, the Attorney General himself still had no explicit statutory authority to litigate outside the Supreme Court. Congress empowered the Attorney General in 1868 to litigate in the Court of Claims and gave him two assistants, to be nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate rather than chosen by the Attorney General himself, see Act of June 25, 1868, ch. 71, § 5, 15 Stat. 75, 75-76 ("1868 Act"), but the Attorney General's litigation authority and staff otherwise remained essentially unchanged between 1789 and 1870, see United States v. 1,960 Acres of Land in Riverside Cty. , 54 F.Supp. 867, 875 (S.D. Cal. 1944). As the Supreme Court stated in the Confiscation Cases : [p]ublic prosecutions, until they come before the court to which they are returnable, are within the exclusive direction of the district attorney, and even after they are entered in court, they are so far under his control that he may enter a nolle prosequi at any time before the jury is empanelled for the trial of the case, except in cases where it is otherwise provided in some act of Congress. Civil suits, in the name and for the benefit of the United States, are also instituted by the district attorney, and, in the absence of any directions from the Attorney-General, he controls the prosecution of the same in the district and circuit courts, and may, if he sees fit, allow the plaintiffs to become nonsuit, or consent to a discontinuance. Settled rule is that those courts will not recognize any suit, civil or criminal, as regularly before them, if prosecuted in the name and for the benefit of the United States, unless the same is represented by the district attorney, or some one designated by him to attend to such business, in his absence, as may appertain to the duties of his office. 74 U.S. (7 Wall.) 454, 457, 19 L.Ed. 196 (1868). Federal litigation authority, while more concentrated in the Attorney General than before, thus remained largely decentralized. In 1870, concern "over the great number of overlapping and conflicting law offices of the Government working independently of and at odds with the local District Attorneys and the Attorney General," 1,960 Acres , 54 F.Supp. at 875, led Congress to create the Department of Justice, with the Attorney General at its head, see An Act to Establish the Department of Justice ("DOJ Act"), ch. 150, 16 Stat. 162, 162 (1870). The DOJ Act's proponents "were principally concerned with consolidating the legal offices of the executive branch to promote greater consistency and efficiency." Randolph D. Moss, Executive Branch Legal Interpretation: A Perspective from the Office of Legal Counsel , 52 ADMIN. L. REV. 1303, 1310 (2000). One supporter described the DOJ Act as "necessary to secure uniformity in the legal opinions given to the President, the heads of Departments, the heads of bureaus, and other officers of the Government for the guidance of their official action," and "to save the unnecessary expenditure of more than one hundred thousand dollars annually for extra official fees to counsel." CONG. GLOBE , 41st Cong., 2d Sess. 3065 (1870) (statement of Rep. William Lawrence of Ohio). Another supporter described the DOJ Act as needed to "cut off ... outside [legal] work" and establish a "unity of jurisprudence." Id. at 3035-36 (statement of Rep. Thomas Jenckes of Rhode Island); see also 1,960 Acres , 54 F.Supp. at 875 ("The principal cause for the passage of the Act was the multiplicity of conflicting legal opinions given by the law officers in the several departments[,] expenditures for special counsel, including large retainers paid eminent lawyers who at times rendered little service in return-numerous private counsel appointed by Cabinet officers." (alterations and internal quotation marks omitted) ). The DOJ Act centralized federal authority to conduct litigation under the Attorney General's control, creating a Solicitor General position "to assist the Attorney-General in the performance of his duties;" maintaining two Assistant Attorney General positions to assist the Attorney General and Solicitor General; transferring various solicitors, law officers, and clerical workers in other departments into the Department of Justice; and reassigning other departments' law duties to the Department. 1870 Act §§ 2- 3, 7. Whereas the Judiciary Act of 1789 had authorized the Attorney General to argue only before the Supreme Court, the district attorneys being authorized to argue before other courts, the DOJ Act expressly authorized the Attorney General to "conduct and argue any case in which the government is interested, in any court of the United States," or to "require the solicitor-general or any officer of his Department to do so," and to send any officer "to attend to the interests of the United States in any suit pending in any" federal or state court or "attend to any other interest of the United States." Id. § 5. The Act gave the Attorney General additional power to direct and supervise his subordinates, including broad authority to delegate them responsibility to provide legal opinions, and to "make all necessary" departmental "rules and regulations." Id. §§ 4, 6, 8, 14. The Act reaffirmed the Attorney General's "supervision of the conduct and proceedings" of the district attorneys, extending such supervision over "all other attorneys and counselors employed in any case or business in which the United States may be concerned," and further strengthened the Attorney General's power over the district attorneys by transferring to him "the supervisory powers ... over the[ir] accounts," along with those of "other officers of the courts of the United States." Id. §§ 15, 16. Section 17 of the DOJ Act prohibited the other departments from "employ[ing] attorneys or counsel at the expense of the United States," requiring the departments instead to "call upon the Department of Justice" for "counsel or advice," and obligating the Department to "attend to the same." Id. § 17. Section 17 also provided that "no counsel or attorney fees shall hereafter be allowed to any person or persons, beside the respective district attorneys and assistant district attorneys, for services in such capacity to the United States, or any branch or department of the government thereof, unless hereafter authorized by law, and then only on the certificate of the Attorney-General that such services were actually rendered, and that the same could not be performed by the Attorney-General, or solicitor-general, or the officers of the department of justice, or by the district attorneys." Id. Finally, as relevant here, Section 17 provided that: every attorney and counselor who shall be specially retained, under the authority of the Department of Justice, to assist in the trial of any case in which the government is interested, shall receive a commission from the head of said Department, as a special assistant to the Attorney-General, or to some one of the district attorneys, as the nature of the appointment may require, and shall take the oath required by law to be taken by the district attorneys, and be subject to all the liabilities imposed upon such officers by law. Id. The Attorney General retained authority under the DA Act "to appoint attorneys to assist the United States Attorney," but now could appoint "attorneys to assist the Attorney General" directly as well. Hawthorne , 449 F.Supp. at 1052. The DA Act and DOJ Act were "separate and distinct statutory bases for the Attorney General, as head of the Department of Justice, to appoint attorneys to assist either himself or a United States attorney." Id. ; see Persico , 522 F.2d at 58 ("Congress, in establishing the Department of Justice, apparently showed no concern that its employees would interfere with the functions of the district attorneys and gave the Attorney General power to use the persons he employed to attend to any interest of the United States."). "Armed with" this new authority, "Attorneys General made extensive use of special attorneys .... in grand jury proceedings as well as trials." Persico , 522 F.2d at 54. "[T]he first widespread use of prosecutorial authority by the Attorney General" occurred under President Ulysses S. Grant, when "Department of Justice staff were dispatched to the South to assist local United States attorneys" in "supervis[ing] the enforcement of Reconstruction laws designed to protect newly-enfranchised black citizens from widespread Ku Klux Klan terrorism in Southern states." Id. "More recently, important tax, civil, land, antitrust and civil rights cases have been increasingly controlled from Washington through the various divisions in the Department of Justice set up for that purpose." Id. As the DOJ Act allowed the Attorney General to retain attorneys "to assist in the trial of any case in which the government is interested," DOJ Act § 17 (emphasis added), dispute arose as to whether specially-retained attorneys could participate on the Attorney General's behalf in grand jury proceedings. In United States v. Rosenthal , the Circuit Court for the Southern District of New York held that the Attorney General, regular Department of Justice officers, and specially-retained attorneys could participate only in trials but not in grand jury proceedings, as the latter were the exclusive province of the district attorneys and their assistants. 121 F. 862, 868 (C.C.S.D.N.Y. 1903). Rosenthal construed the DOJ Act to "indicate attentive and jealous regard for the primary policy of limiting the conduct of matters before grand juries to the local officers," reasoning that "the exclusive power of the District Attorney to initiate proceedings before the grand jury" was "a fundamental policy of the government" that Congress had not intended the DOJ Act to "derogat[e]." Id. at 866-67. Rosenthal did not doubt that the DOJ Act "enable[d] the Attorney General to appoint a special assistant to the Attorney General," holding only that such special assistants could not participate in grand jury proceedings. Id. at 868. Two other courts rejected Rosenthal 's reasoning shortly thereafter, holding that specially-retained attorneys could conduct grand jury proceedings. See United States v. Twining , 132 F. 129, 131-32 (D.N.J. 1904) ; United States v. Cobban , 127 F. 713, 717 (D. Mont. 1904). Congress, "acting on the Attorney General's request," responded to Rosenthal in 1906 by enacting a statute authorizing the Attorney General, regular Department of Justice officers, and specially-retained attorneys to conduct grand jury proceedings, "[t]he express purpose of" which "was to overrule the broad holding in Rosenthal ." Persico , 522 F.2d at 59. The 1906 Act provided [t]hat the Attorney General or any officer of the Department of Justice, or any attorney or counselor specially appointed by the Attorney-General under any provision of law, may, when thereunto specifically directed by the Attorney-General, conduct any kind of legal proceeding, civil or criminal, including grand jury proceedings and proceedings before committing magistrates, which district attorneys now are or hereafter may be by law authorized to conduct, whether or not he or they be residents of the district in which such proceeding is brought. An Act to Authorize the Commencement and Conduct of Legal Proceedings Under the Direction of the Attorney-General ("1906 Act"), Pub. L. No. 59-404, ch. 3935, 34 Stat. 816, 816-17 (1906). The language requiring the Attorney General to "specifically direct[ ]" that special counsel conduct grand jury proceedings likely was added to assuage "fears that an unbounded prosecutorial force was being created." Hawthorne , 449 F.Supp. at 1055 ; see also id. at 1054 ("It appears likely that this requirement was meant to respond in some measure to the reservations of a minority of the House Committee which had strongly objected to granting specially appointed counsel the right to appear before a grand jury."). "In this manner, the Attorney General would supervise the work of these assistants, and bear ultimate responsibility for their conduct." Id. at 1055. Between 1921 and 1964, Congress annually appropriated money to the Department of Justice to employ officials to detect and prosecute crime. Language from the Department's 1964 appropriation bill, for example, provided money "[f]or expenses necessary for the detection and prosecution of crimes against the United States." Act of Aug. 31, 1964, Pub. L. No. 88-527, tit. II, 78 Stat. 711, 717. In 1965, Congress embarked on a comprehensive recodification of the U.S. Code. S. Rep. No. 89-1380, at 18 (1966); accord H.R. Rep. 89-901, at 1 (1965). In the course of those efforts, Congress codified language from the Department's 1964 appropriation act into statute at 28 U.S.C. § 533(1). Although the appropriation act had included this provision under the header "Federal Bureau of Investigation" ("FBI"), 78 Stat. at 717, neither the appropriation act itself nor Section 533(1) textually limited the Attorney General's hiring authority to the FBI. B. Statutory Background Today, the Attorney General remains the head of the Department of Justice. 28 U.S.C. §§ 501, 503. The Deputy Attorney General ("DAG") is the Department's second-in-command, and "may exercise all the duties of" the Attorney General "[i]n case of a vacancy in the office."Id. §§ 504, 508(a). "All functions of other officers of the Department of Justice" and of "employees of the Department of Justice," with the exception of certain relatively minor functions not relevant here, "are vested in the Attorney General," who "may from time to time make such provisions as he considers appropriate authorizing the performance by any other officer ... of the Department of Justice of any function of the Attorney General." Id. §§ 509, 510. "[T]he conduct of litigation in which the United States, an agency, or officer thereof is a party, or is interested, and securing evidence therefor, is reserved to officers of the Department of Justice, under the direction of the Attorney General," except as the law may otherwise provide. Id. § 516. The Attorney General, in turn, "shall supervise all litigation to which the United States, an agency, or officer thereof is a party, and shall direct all United States attorneys, assistant United States attorneys, and special [assistants to U.S. Attorneys] in the discharge of their respective duties." Id. § 519; see also id. § 547(5) ("United States attorney[s]" shall "make such reports as the Attorney General may direct."). "The Attorney General may appoint officials ... to detect and prosecute crimes against the United States," id. § 533(1), and may "specially retain[ ]" attorneys "under authority of the Department of Justice," who "shall be commissioned as special assistant to the Attorney General or special attorney," id. § 515(b). The Attorney General may also "specifically direct[ ]" that "any other" regular "officer of the Department of Justice, or any attorney specially appointed by the Attorney General under law, ... conduct any kind of legal proceeding, civil or criminal, including grand jury proceedings and proceedings before committing magistrate judges, which United States attorneys are authorized by law to conduct, whether or not he is a resident of the district in which the proceeding is brought," or else may himself do the same. Id. § 515(a). The Attorney General is required to "promulgate rules and regulations which require the disqualification of any officer or employee of the Department of Justice ... from participation in a particular investigation or prosecution if such participation may result in a personal, financial, or political conflict of interest, or the appearance thereof." 28 U.S.C. § 528. Pursuant to this statutory requirement, the Attorney General promulgated 28 C.F.R. § 45.2, which provides, in relevant part, that "no employee shall participate in a criminal investigation or prosecution if he has a personal or political relationship with ... [a]ny person or organization substantially involved in the conduct that is the subject of the investigation or prosecution" or "[a]ny person or organization which he knows has a specific and substantial interest that would be directly affected by the outcome of the investigation or prosecution." 28 C.F.R. § 45.2(a) ; see also Disqualification Arising From Personal or Political Relationships, 48 Fed. Reg. 2,318, 2,319 (Jan. 19, 1983) (citing 28 U.S.C. § 528 as authority for the regulation's promulgation). The regulation defines the term "[p]olitical relationship" to mean "a close identification with an elected official, a candidate ... for elective, public office, a political party, or a campaign organization, arising from service as a principal adviser thereto or a principal official thereof." 28 C.F.R. § 45.2(c)(1). C. The Special Counsel Regulations In 1999, shortly before the Independent Counsel provisions of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 ("EIGA"), Pub. L. No. 95-521, § 601(a), 92 Stat. 1824, 1867-73; see 28 U.S.C. §§ 591 - 599 (expired), lapsed, the Department of Justice promulgated regulations "to replace" the expiring provisions, attempting "to strike a balance between independence and accountability in certain sensitive investigations, recognizing that there is no perfect solution to the problem," Office of Special Counsel, 64 Fed. Reg. 37,038, 37,038 (July 9, 1999). The regulations seek to achieve "day-to-day independence" of the Special Counsel, who is "appointed to investigate and, if appropriate, prosecute matters when the Attorney General concludes that extraordinary circumstances exist such that the public interest would be served by removing a large degree of responsibility for the matter from the Department of Justice." Id. The regulations leave a Special Counsel "free to structure the investigation as he or she wishes and to exercise independent prosecutorial discretion to decide whether charges should be brought, within the context of the established procedures of the Department," while retaining in the Attorney General "ultimate responsibility for the matter and how it is handled." Id. The regulations thus "explicitly acknowledge the possibility of review of specific decisions reached by the Special Counsel." Id. The regulations also contemplate that the Acting Attorney General would assume responsibility over a Special Counsel matter "if the Attorney General is personally recused in the matter." Id. The Department of Justice promulgated the regulations without either notice and comment or a 30-day delay in the effective date as "rule[s] relat[ing] to matters of agency management or personnel." Id. at 37,041. The regulations allow the Attorney General to establish a Special Counsel's jurisdiction, and to determine whether "additional jurisdiction beyond that specified in" the Special Counsel's "original jurisdiction is necessary in order to fully investigate and resolve the matters assigned." 28 C.F.R. § 600.4(a), (b). A Special Counsel is required to "comply with the rules, regulations, procedures, practices and policies of the Department of Justice," and to "consult with appropriate offices within the Department for guidance with respect to established practices, policies and procedures of the Department, including ethics and security regulations and procedures." Id. § 600.7(a). A Special Counsel may "consult directly with the Attorney General" if the Special Counsel "concludes that the extraordinary circumstances of any particular decision would render compliance with required review and approval procedures by the designated Departmental component inappropriate." Id. Although a Special Counsel is not "subject to the day-to-day supervision of any official of the Department," nonetheless "the Attorney General may request that the Special Counsel provide an explanation for any investigative or prosecutorial step, and may after review conclude that the action is so inappropriate or unwarranted under established Departmental practices that it should not be pursued." Id. § 600.7(b). The Attorney General must "give great weight to the views of the Special Counsel" in making such determination. Id. A Special Counsel is not unbounded but is "subject to disciplinary action for misconduct and breach of ethical duties under the same standards and to the same extent as are other employees of the Department of Justice," with "[i]nquiries into such matters ... handled through the appropriate office of the Department upon the approval of the Attorney General." Id. § 600.7(c). The Attorney General may "discipline[ ]" a Special Counsel, as well as "remove a Special Counsel for misconduct, dereliction of duty, incapacity, conflict of interest, or for other good cause, including violation of Departmental policies," in which event the Attorney General must "inform the Special Counsel in writing of the specific reason for his or her removal." Id. § 600.7(d). A Special Counsel must, within 60 days of appointment, "develop a proposed budget for the current fiscal year ... for the Attorney General's review and approval." Id. § 600.8(a)(1). The Attorney General, upon consideration of the Special Counsel's budget proposal, then "shall establish a budget for the operations of the Special Counsel." Id. "Thereafter, 90 days before the beginning of each fiscal year, the Special Counsel shall report to the Attorney General the status of the investigation, and provide a budget request for the following year." Id. 600.8(a)(2). The Attorney General then "determine[s] whether the investigation should continue and, if so, establish[es] the budget for the next year." Id. In addition to providing a budget to be approved by the Attorney General, a Special Counsel must "notify the Attorney General of events in the course of his or her investigation in conformity with the Departmental guidelines with respect to Urgent Reports," id. § 600.8(b), which Department of Justice litigating divisions must submit "to inform Department leadership, including the Attorney General and the [DAG], of (1) major developments in significant investigations and litigation, (2) law enforcement emergencies, and (3) events affecting the Department that are likely to generate national media or Congressional attention," U.S. ATTORNEY'S MANUAL § 1-13.100. "At the conclusion of the Special Counsel's work, he or she shall provide the Attorney General with a confidential report explaining the prosecution or declination decisions reached by the Special Counsel." 28 C.F.R. § 600.8(c). The Attorney General must notify "the Chairman and Ranking Minority Member of the Judiciary Committees of each House of Congress" upon either appointing or removing a Special Counsel, and provide "an explanation for each action." Id. § 600.9(a)(1)-(2). In addition, the Attorney General must, "[u]pon conclusion of the Special Counsel's investigation," provide "a description and explanation of instances (if any) in which the Attorney General concluded that a proposed action by a Special Counsel was so inappropriate or unwarranted under established Departmental practices that it should not be pursued." Id. § 600.9(a)(3); accord id. § 600.7(b). The Special Counsel regulations "are not intended to, do not, and may not be relied upon to create any rights, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or equity, by any person or entity, in any matter, civil, criminal, or administrative." Id. § 600.10. D. The Special Counsel's Appointment On March 2, 2017, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced his recusal "from any existing or future investigations of any matters related in any way to the campaigns for President of the United States." Press Release, U.S. Dep't of Justice, Attorney General Sessions Statement on Recusal ("Recusal Statement") (Mar. 2, 2017). The Attorney General announced that "[c]onsistent with the succession order for the Department of Justice, [the] Acting Deputy Attorney General ... shall act as and perform the functions of the Attorney General with respect to any matters from which I have recused myself to the extent they exist." Id. The Attorney General confirmed that he "ha[d] taken no actions regarding any such matters, to the extent they exist." Id. In subsequent testimony before the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, the Attorney General explained that he had recused himself as "required" by 28 C.F.R. § 45.2, which the Attorney General understood to mandate "that Department employees should not participate in investigations of a campaign if they have served as a campaign advisor." Jeff Sessions, Attorney General, Prepared Remarks to the United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence ("Attorney General's Remarks") (June 13, 2017). The Attorney General further testified that between the day after he became Attorney General and the date of his recusal, he "was never briefed on any investigative details and did not access information about the investigation," and "received only the limited information that the Department's career officials determined was necessary to inform [his] recusal decision." Id. On March 20, 2017, then-FBI Director James B. Comey testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence that he ha[d] been authorized by the Department of Justice to confirm that the FBI, as part of our counterintelligence mission, is investigating the Russian government's efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election, and that includes investigating the nature of any links between individuals associated with the Trump campaign and the Russian government and whether there was any coordination between the campaign and Russia's efforts. James B. Comey, Dir., FBI, Statement Before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (Mar. 20, 2017). "As with any counterintelligence investigation," the Director testified, "this will also include an assessment of whether any crimes were committed." Id. Almost two months after the Attorney General's recusal from any campaign-related matters, and over one month after the FBI Director's revelatory testimony about the ongoing counterintelligence investigation of Russian efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election, Rod J. Rosenstein was sworn in as DAG on April 26, 2017. See Meet the Deputy Attorney General , U.S. DEP'T OF JUSTICE , https://www.justice.gov/dag/staff-profile/meet-deputy-attorneygeneral (last visited July 31, 2018). The DAG became Acting Attorney General, by operation of law, as to those matters for which the Attorney General was recused. See Recusal Statement; 28 U.S.C. § 508(a) ; see also Attorney General's Remarks. Invoking "the authority vested in me as Acting Attorney General, including 28 U.S.C. §§ 509, 510, and 515," the DAG on May 17, 2017, appointed Robert S. Mueller III to serve as Special Counsel for the U.S. Department of Justice. U.S. Dep't of Justice, Office of the Deputy Attorney General, Order No. 3915-2017, Appointment of Special Counsel to Investigate Russian Interference with the 2016 Presidential Election and Related Matters ("Appointment Order") (May 17, 2017). The DAG specifically authorized the Special Counsel: to conduct the investigation confirmed by then-FBI Director James B. Comey in testimony before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence on March 20, 2017, including (i) any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump; and (ii) any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation; and (iii) any other matters within the scope of 28 C.F.R. § 600.4(a). Id. ¶ (b). The DAG also authorized the Special Counsel "to prosecute federal crimes arising from the investigation of these matters." Id. ¶ (c). The DAG specified that 28 C.F.R. §§ 600.4 - 600.10"are applicable to the Special Counsel," id. ¶ (d), but did not invoke the regulations as authority for the Special Counsel's appointment. The Special Counsel has since "investigat[ed] foreign interference in the 2016 presidential election and potential collusion in those efforts by American citizens." In re Grand Jury Investigation , 17-mc-2336 (BAH), 2017 WL 4898143, at *1 (D.D.C. Oct. 2, 2017). E. The Subpoenas at Issue The Special Counsel, on May 10, 2018, served on the witness two grand jury subpoenas to produce documents and appear before the grand jury on May 18, 2018. Gov't's Mot. Compel ("Mot. Compel") ¶ 2, ECF No. 1; see also generally Mot. Compel, Ex. A, Grand Jury Subpoenas, dated May 10, 2018 ("First Subpoenas"), ECF No. 1-1. The witness agreed to meet voluntarily with the Special Counsel on May 14, 2018. Shortly before the meeting date, on May 11, 2018, the witness's attorney ("Attorney 1") contacted the Special Counsel on the witness's behalf to advise that she was considering representing the witness in connection with this matter, and that the witness no longer wished to meet with the Special Counsel on May 14. Mot. Compel ¶ 2. On May 14, 2018, the Special Counsel called Attorney 1 to inquire about her representation of the witness, but Attorney 1 did not return that call. Id. ¶ 3. The witness failed to appear before the grand jury on May 18, 2018, as one of the first subpoenas has required. Id. ¶ 4. The Special Counsel tried to contact Attorney 1, who was unavailable, but Attorney 1's employee informed the Special Counsel that Attorney 1 represented the witness and would respond to the Special Counsel on May 21, 2018. Id. The employee did not explain the witness's failure to appear before the grand jury. Id. Despite the employee's representation, Attorney 1 failed to contact the Special Counsel on May 21, 2018. Id. ¶ 5. Instead, the Special Counsel emailed Attorney 1 a second set of subpoenas on May 23, 2018, for the witness to testify and produce documents on June 1, 2018. Mot. Compel, Ex. B, Grand Jury Subpoenas, dated May 23, 2018 ("Second Subpoenas"), ECF No. 1-2. Two days later, the Special Counsel, having received no response from Attorney 1, again emailed Attorney 1 to confirm receipt of the second subpoenas. Mot. Compel ¶ 7. Attorney 1 responded by requesting additional time to comply given the volume of responsive documents. Id. The Special Counsel agreed to adjourn the witness's document production until June 5, 2018, and the witness's grand jury appearance to June 8, 2018. Id. Attorney 1 did not acknowledge this schedule change, and on May 31, 2018, the Special Counsel contacted Attorney 1 to confirm the witness's appearance before the grand jury on June 8, 2018. Id. ¶ 8. Attorney 1 expressed concerns over certain "patently irrelevant" responsive materials, and in response, the Special Counsel agreed that the witness need not produce the identified materials. Id. ¶¶ 8-9. Attorney 1 did not confirm the witness's appearance as the grand jury subpoena required. On June 5, 2018, the Special Counsel emailed Attorney 1 new subpoenas reflecting the June 5, 2018, production date and the June 8, 2018, appearance date. Id. ¶ 10; see also generally Mot. Compel, Ex. C, Grand Jury Subpoenas, dated June 8, 2018 ("Third Subpoenas"), ECF No. 1-3. The Special Counsel again emailed Attorney 1 the next day to confirm the witness's June 8, 2018 appearance as required, and to arrange for the witness's travel. Mot. Compel ¶ 11. On June 8, 2018, the witness again failed to appear before the grand jury. Id. ¶ 12. An FBI agent informed the witness by phone that the witness was scheduled to appear before the grand jury, but the witness stated that he was not in Washington, DC, and that his attorney handled matters related to his grand jury appearance. Id. When the witness failed to appear a second time, the Special Counsel emailed Attorney 1 on June 11, 2018, at approximately 8:50 a.m., requesting that Attorney 1 contact the Special Counsel immediately regarding her client's absence. Id. ¶ 13. The Special Counsel reiterated this request at 2:15 p.m. that same day, asserting that "the government would seek an order to show cause as to why [the witness] should not be held in contempt" should Attorney 1 fail to respond by 9:00 a.m. the next day. Id. ¶ 14. At 9:07 a.m. the next day, Attorney 1 informed the Special Counsel that she would provide correspondence within an hour, but by 12:44 p.m. had failed to do so. Id. ¶ 15. In response to another request from the Special Counsel, Attorney 1 again stated, at 2:15 p.m., that she would send the correspondence within an hour, but "provided no communication explaining her client's failure to appear as subpoenaed on June 8, 2018" as of noon the following day. Id. ¶¶ 15-16. On June 13, 2018, the Special Counsel moved to compel and for an order to show cause why the witness should not be held in contempt for failure to appear before the grand jury. Id. at 1. As ordered by the Court, the witness filed an opposition to the Special Counsel's motion on June 14, 2018, styled as a motion to quash, or in the alternative, to modify the grand jury subpoenas due to burdensomeness. See generally Witness's First Mot. Quash, ECF No. 4. The Special Counsel agreed to modify the subpoenas as requested, Gov't's Reply Supp. Mot. Compel ¶ 3, ECF No. 3, and the parties appeared for a hearing on their motions on June 18, 2018, at which time the Court granted the Special Counsel's motion, denied the witness's motion as moot, and directed the witness to appear before the grand jury on June 28, 2018 and to perform the agreed-upon searches. On or about June 28, 2018, the witness retained additional counsel, Attorney 2, who on June 28, 2018, filed a motion to quash the pending grand jury subpoenas and to stay the Court's order directing his appearance before the grand jury that day, arguing that the Special Counsel's appointment violates the Appointments Clause of the U.S. Constitution on the grounds that (1) the Special Counsel is a principal officer who had not been appointed by the President upon Senate confirmation, and, in the alternative, (2) Congress had not "by law" authorized the Special Counsel's appointment. Witness's Second Mot. Quash ("Witness's Mot.") at 1, ECF No. 10. The witness "adopt[ed] and incorporate[d] by reference th[e] same arguments" advanced in a motion recently filed by a defendant, Concord Management and Consulting LLC, in a criminal case being prosecuted by the Special Counsel in this Court. Id. at 2 (citing United States v. Internet Research Agency, LLC, et al. , No. 18-cr-32, Mem. Points & Authorities Supp. Def. Concord Mgmt. & Consulting LLC's Mot. Dismiss Indictment ("Concord Mem.") (D.D.C. filed June 25, 2018), ECF No. 36). The Court imposed a scheduling order, requiring the parties to appear for an in-person status hearing on June 29, 2018. See Minute Order (June 28, 2018). With Attorney 2 appearing telephonically, the Court set a briefing schedule on the witness's pending Motion to Quash. See Minute Order (June 29, 2018). The witness raised for the first time in his reply brief a new argument against the lawfulness of the Special Counsel's appointment, asserting that the Special Counsel had not been appointed by a "Head of Department" because the Attorney General's recusal had not made the DAG the Acting Attorney General. See Witness's Reply Supp. Witness's Mot. ("Witness's Reply") at 12, ECF No. 19. Following a hearing on July 18, 2018, and supplemental filings by the parties to address questions raised at the hearing, the witness's motion to quash is ripe for review. II. LEGAL STANDARD "On motion made promptly, the court may quash or modify [a] subpoena if compliance would be unreasonable or oppressive." FED. R. CRIM. P. 17(c)(2). "[T]he claim that a subpoena was applied for and issued under the signature of unauthorized persons would constitute a cognizable claim of undue burden or unlawfulness." In re Sealed Case , 827 F.2d 776, 778 (D.C. Cir. 1987) ; accord In re Sealed Case , 829 F.2d 50, 53-55 (D.C. Cir. 1987) (same). III. DISCUSSION The witness raises three arguments against the constitutionality of the Special Counsel's appointment under the Appointments Clause. The witness argues that the Special Counsel is a principal officer who must be, but was not, nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate. Witness's Mot. at 14. In the alternative, the witness contends that if the Special Counsel is an inferior officer, Congress did not "by Law" vest his appointment in the Attorney General. Id. at 8. Finally, the witness posits, even if Congress statutorily authorized the Special Counsel's appointment, the DAG did not validly appoint him, as the Attorney General's recusal did not allow the DAG to serve as Acting Attorney General. Witness's Reply at 12. The Special Counsel, in turn, asserts that the witness's challenges are untimely, and urges that the motion be dismissed for lack of good cause to raise new arguments. Gov't's Opp'n Witness's Mot. Quash ("Gov't's Opp'n") at 9-10 n.5, ECF No. 18. As explained in further detail below, beginning with the Special Counsel's timeliness challenge, each of these arguments fail. A. The Witness's Second Motion to Quash is Timely The Special Counsel argues that the witness's motion should be treated "as effectively a motion to reconsider [the witness's] prior motion to quash," and, as such, denied "for lack of good cause for [the witness] to raise a new argument." Gov't's Opp'n at 9 n.5. Emphasizing the untimeliness of the witness's challenge to the subpoenas, the Special Counsel asserts that "[t]he constitutional nature of [the witness's] claim does not require the Court to entertain it at this juncture." Id. A motion for reconsideration "is not a vehicle to present a new legal theory that was available prior to judgment." Leidos, Inc. v. Hellenic Republic , 881 F.3d 213, 217 (D.C. Cir. 2018) (internal quotation marks omitted). Nonetheless, "Appointments Clause objections" fall within "the category of nonjurisdictional structural constitutional objections that c[an] be considered ... whether or not they were" timely presented, as "[t]he roots of the separation-of-powers concept embedded in the Appointments Clause are structural and political." Freytag v. Comm'r of Internal Revenue , 501 U.S. 868, 878-79, 111 S.Ct. 2631, 115 L.Ed.2d 764 (1991) (internal quotation marks omitted). The witness presents "a constitutional challenge that is neither frivolous nor disingenuous," and that "goes to the validity of the ... proceeding that is the basis for this litigation." Id. at 879, 111 S.Ct. 2631. The Court thus "exercise[s] [its] discretion to hear [the witness's] challenge to the" Special Counsel's "constitutional authority," notwithstanding the witness's failure to raise that challenge in his initial motion. Id. Blair v. United States , which held that a grand jury witness is "not entitled to raise any question about the constitutionality of the statutes under which the grand jury's investigation was conducted," 250 U.S. 273, 283, 39 S.Ct. 468, 63 L.Ed. 979 (1919), is relied upon by the Special Counsel but does not dictate a result contrary to that the Court reaches here. The grand jury witnesses in Blair did not challenge the lawfulness of the grand jury's existence or of the prosecutor's authority, only the constitutionality of a statute the alleged violations of which the grand jury was investigating. Id. at 277, 39 S.Ct. 468. Here, in contrast, the witness does not allege that the grand jury is investigating violations of an unconstitutional statute, but rather challenges the constitutionality of the Special Counsel's appointment and thus power to enforce subpoenas. The issue is more analogous to Class v. United States , which held that a "valid guilty plea does not, by itself, bar direct appeal of [a defendant's] constitutional claim[ ] .... which, judged on its face based upon the existing record, would extinguish the government's power to constitutionally prosecute the defendant if the claim were successful." --- U.S. ----, 138 S.Ct. 798, 805-06, 200 L.Ed.2d 37 (2018) (internal quotation marks omitted). Class , to be sure, involved a criminal defendant facing imprisonment, supervised release, and the attendant relinquishment of certain rights, id. at 802, rather than a request merely to testify before the grand jury. Yet, if Class and the instant situation are not on all fours with one another, nor are they altogether different. The witness here may face imprisonment for contempt should he defy the subpoena. Moreover, the witness's arguments, if meritorious, would "extinguish the [Special Counsel's] power to constitutionally" seek to compel his compliance with grand jury subpoenas or to hold him in contempt for failing to comply. See id. at 806. Even construing the witness's second motion to quash as a motion to reconsider, as the Special Counsel urges, the merits of the witness's claims thus warrant addressing. B. The Special Counsel is an Inferior Officer The witness contends that the Special Counsel is a principal officer, who was neither nominated by the President nor confirmed by the Senate, and thus was appointed in violation of the Appointments Clause of Article II. See Witness's Mot. at 14. Article II distinguishes between principal and inferior officers in prescribing the manner of an officer's appointment. See U.S. CONST. art. II, § 2, cl. 2. Under the Appointments Clause, the President shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint ... all [Principal] Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law; but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such Inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments. Id. This two-tier appointments scheme was "designed to preserve political accountability relative to important Government assignments" by ensuring that all officers either had been approved by the President and Senate or else are responsible to such officers. Edmond , 520 U.S. at 663, 117 S.Ct. 1573. The "administrative convenience" of bypassing the process of presidential nomination and senatorial confirmation the so-called "Excepting Clause" provided, however, "was deemed to outweigh the benefits of the more cumbersome procedure only with respect to the appointment of 'inferior Officers.' " Id. at 660, 117 S.Ct. 1573. "The line between 'inferior' and 'principal' officers is one that is far from clear, and the Framers provided little guidance into where it should be drawn." Morrison , 487 U.S. at 671, 108 S.Ct. 2597. Morrison identified four factors a court considers in determining whether an officer is principal or inferior: whether the officer is (1) "subject to removal by a higher Executive Branch official," (2) "empowered ... to perform only certain, limited duties," (3) "limited in jurisdiction," and (4) "limited in tenure." Id. at 671-72, 108 S.Ct. 2597. Edmond clarified that the first of these factors-whether an officer is "subject to removal by a higher ... official"-is by far the most important to a Court's determination of principal-inferior status, while reformulating that factor into a broader inquiry into whether an officer's "work is directed and supervised at some level by others who were appointed by Presidential nomination with the advice and consent of the Senate." 520 U.S. at 663, 117 S.Ct. 1573. "Generally speaking," Edmond explained, "the term 'inferior officer' connotes a relationship with some higher ranking officer or officers below the President: Whether one is an 'inferior' officer depends on whether he has a superior." Id. at 662, 117 S.Ct. 1573 ; accord Free Enter. Fund v. Pub. Co. Accounting Oversight Bd. ("PCAOB "), 561 U.S. 477, 510, 130 S.Ct. 3138, 177 L.Ed.2d 706 (2010) (applying Edmond to conclude that officials were inferior rather than principal due to the agency's "oversight authority" and "power to remove ... at will"). Indeed, Edmond held that an officer with a presidentially-nominated, Senate-confirmed superior is inferior even if all three other Morrison factors-the magnitude of an officer's duties, jurisdiction, and tenure-weigh toward principal officer status. 520 U.S. at 661-62, 117 S.Ct. 1573 (concluding that a Coast Guard Court of Criminal Appeals judge was an inferior officer despite that "the last two [ Morrison factors-limited jurisdiction and tenure] do not hold ... here" and that such judges "are charged with exercising significant authority on behalf of the United States"). The witness contends that the Special Counsel is a principal officer who was neither nominated by the President nor confirmed by the Senate, and thus was unconstitutionally appointed. See Witness's Mot. at 14. As explained in more detail below, however, the Attorney General has ample legal authority to "direct[ ] and supervis[e]" the Special Counsel, which makes the Special Counsel an inferior officer. Edmond , 520 U.S. at 663, 117 S.Ct. 1573. To the extent relevant, the remaining three Morrison factors each weigh in favor of inferior officer status. Nor does the breadth of the authority the Special Counsel wields negate his inferior officer status. The witness's argument that the Special Counsel is a principal officer thus does not pass muster. 1. The Attorney General's Authority to Direct and Supervise a Special Counsel The primary criterion to determine principal-inferior officer status is whether an officer "is directed and supervised at some level by others who were appointed by Presidential nomination with the advice and consent of the Senate." Id. at 663, 117 S.Ct. 1573. Edmond "emphasized three factors" in applying this standard: whether an officer is (1) "subject to the substantial supervision and oversight of" another Executive officer who is, or is "subordinate" to, a principal officer; (2) "removable ... without cause;" and (3) subject to "another executive branch entity's ... power to reverse the [officer's] decisions," such that the officer has " 'no power to render a final decision on behalf of the United States unless permitted to do so by other Executive Officers.' " Intercollegiate Broad. Sys., Inc. v. Copyright Royalty Bd. , 684 F.3d 1332, 1338 (D.C. Cir. 2012) (citing Edmond , 520 U.S. at 664-65, 117 S.Ct. 1573 ). At the outset, determining the extent of the Attorney General's authority to direct and supervise the Special Counsel requires looking solely to statutes, rather than to any regulations, which can neither augment nor detract from the Attorney General's powers in this regard. Any authority the Attorney General might claim under the Special Counsel regulations beyond that which statutes already grant him would be invalid, and the regulations themselves ultra vires , as the Attorney General cannot give himself greater powers than statutes already provide. See, e.g. , Bowen v. Georgetown Univ. Hosp. , 488 U.S. 204, 208, 109 S.Ct. 468, 102 L.Ed.2d 493 (1988) ("It is axiomatic that an administrative agency's power to promulgate legislative regulations is limited to the authority delegated by Congress."); La. Pub. Serv. Comm'n v. FCC , 476 U.S. 355, 374, 106 S.Ct. 1890, 90 L.Ed.2d 369 (1986) ("[A]n agency literally has no power to act ... unless and until Congress confers power upon it."); Cent. United Life Ins. Co. v. Burwell , 827 F.3d 70, 73 (D.C. Cir. 2016) ("Agencies may act only when and how Congress lets them."); see also Rosenthal , 121 F. at 869 ("Powers that are nonexistent cannot be delegated by a superior to an inferior. A principal conveys to his agent what he has, and not what is denied him, and what he has not."). At the same time, if statutes give the Attorney General power to direct and supervise the Special Counsel, the regulations could not possibly diminish such authority, as the Attorney General's ability to rescind the regulations at will, immediately and without notice or comment, guarantees that he retains ultimate powers of direction and supervision. See 64 Fed. Reg. at 37,041 ("This rule relates to matters of agency management or personnel, and is therefore exempt from the usual requirements of prior notice and comment and a 30-day delay in the effective date."); see also United States v. Nixon , 418 U.S. 683, 696, 94 S.Ct. 3090, 41 L.Ed.2d 1039 (1974) ("[T]he Attorney General [may] amend or revoke the regulation defining the Special Prosecutor's authority."); Morrison , 487 U.S. at 721, 108 S.Ct. 2597 (Scalia, J., dissenting) ("[T]he President or the Attorney General could have removed [the Watergate Special Prosecutor] at any time, if by no other means than amending or revoking the regulation defining his authority."); Sealed Case , 829 F.2d at 56 ("[T]he Independent Counsel: Iran/Contra serves only for so long as the March 5, 1987, regulation remains in force. Subject to generally applicable procedural requirements, the Attorney General may rescind this regulation at any time, thereby abolishing the Office of Independent Counsel: Iran/Contra."). This is not to deny that the regulations have "force of law" so long as "extant," Nixon , 418 U.S. at 695, 94 S.Ct. 3090, but only to recognize that shackles the Attorney General may remove anytime, for any reason, do not meaningfully restrict. "[L]ike Ulysses binding himself to the mast," Sveen v. Melin , --- U.S. ----, 138 S.Ct. 1815, 1823, --- L.Ed.2d ---- (2018), the Attorney General voluntarily has limited his power-but unlike Ulysses, the Attorney General can unbind himself at will. If the regulations ever prevented the Attorney General from countermanding a Special Counsel's action or firing a Special Counsel who disobeyed directives, the Attorney General could rescind the regulations immediately and direct or fire the Special Counsel as he wished. The regulations reflect the Attorney General's permissible "cho[ice] to restrain himself in his dealings with subordinates," and neither enable the Attorney General "to bind his successors by diminishing their powers," PCAOB , 561 U.S. at 497, 130 S.Ct. 3138, nor raise any separation of powers problems, being promulgated by the Attorney General himself rather than "impos[ed]" on the Executive by another branch, Morrison ,