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, by congress. they should be defended vigorously whether or not the solicitor general agreed with them or not. unless it can't be reason bring definitive. sometimes you have a disagreement about whether it's reasonably defensible or not. that's the fundamental question. the department of justice should defend laws that congress passed unless it's -- they're unable to do so in a reasonable way. >> what is the place of independent agencies in a unified executive branch, and do you envision that you will be making any recommendations to the president to reign in independent agencies in an effort...

"we have had difficulty with several u.s. attorneys in cases we have wanted to bring. we have want experienced that difficulty in the cases i have handled with mr. sessions. in fact, quite the contrary." it goes on to say "i've had occasion numerous times to ask for his assistance and guidance. i have been able to go to him, and he has had an open door poli policy, and i have taken advantage of that and found him cooperative." that is an accurate statement. i don't know, mr. rich. perhaps he handled a case that i never worked with. he goes on to say -- >> one of the cases -- >> no, you raised ...

Sometimes you even hear the president complain about things clearly under his control. i remember president clinton complaining about the death penalty processes of the department of federal government when he appointed the attorney general. he had just appointed a committee to make sure the death penalty was properly carried out. something like whose responsibility is this? you are in charge. you can remove the attorney general if you're not happy. those kind of things do continue out there that we need to be careful about, and i thank you for raising it. >> i have less than a minute left, so...

Remembering how the attorney general got there and can be removed at any moment by the president, and at the same time the attorney general has the obligation to be independent, to provide an independent source of analysis for the president and for the president's team and cabinet. how do you understand these things as a former u.s. attorney, as a former line prosecutor and as a senator who served on the judiciary committee, you have had a lot of opportunities to observe this process. how do you see the proper balancing between all these interests from the standpoint of the attorney general? >...

People who had not been given legal status under the laws of the united states were given photo id's, work authorization and social security numbers and the right to participate in these government programs that would appear to be contrary to existing law. that would to me suggest an overreach. >> in parallel, before the courts, what instances would it be legitimate, if any, for the solicitor general to not defend a law in court? >> that is a very good question. sometimes it becomes a real matter. in general the solicitor general as part of the department of justice and the executive branch st...