“… the regulation names only one ground on which the Attorney General may reject the special counsel’s action, namely (under section 600.7(b)), that it is “so inappropriate or unwarranted under established Departmental practices that it should not be pursued.” This appears to limit the Attorney General’s power under the regulation to conclusions about inappropriateness under “established Departmental practices,” rather than, for example, allowing it to turn on different good faith judgments that prosecutors might have about the proper analysis of facts or law.
At the conclusion of a special counsel’s investigation, section 600.9(a)(3) requires the Attorney General to provide to the chairs and ranking minority members of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees, “to the extent consistent with applicable law, a description and explanation of instances (if any)” in which the Attorney General overruled a proposed action by a special counsel. The purpose of this report, and also reports on the appointment or removal of special counsel, is “to help ensure congressional and public confidence in the integrity of the process.”
64 Fed. Reg. 37041.