28 USC § 526 - Authority of Attorney General to investigate United States attorneys, marshals, trustees, clerks of court, and others

---
identifier: "/us/usc/t28/s526"
source: "usc"
legal_status: "official_legal_evidence"
title: "28 USC § 526 - Authority of Attorney General to investigate United States attorneys, marshals, trustees, clerks of court, and others"
title_number: 28
title_name: "JUDICIARY AND JUDICIAL PROCEDURE"
section_number: "526"
section_name: "Authority of Attorney General to investigate United States attorneys, marshals, trustees, clerks of court, and others"
chapter_number: 31
chapter_name: "THE ATTORNEY GENERAL"
part_number: "II"
part_name: "DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE"
positive_law: true
currency: "119-84"
last_updated: "2026-04-17"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
source_credit: "(Added Pub. L. 89–554, § 4(c), Sept. 6, 1966, 80 Stat. 615; amended Pub. L. 95–598, title II, §§ 219(a), (b), 220, Nov. 6, 1978, 92 Stat. 2662; Pub. L. 99–554, title I, § 144(c), Oct. 27, 1986, 100 Stat. 3096; Pub. L. 101–650, title III, § 321, Dec. 1, 1990, 104 Stat. 5117; Pub. L. 107–273, div. B, title IV, § 4003(b)(2), Nov. 2, 2002, 116 Stat. 1811.)"
---


# § 526. Authority of Attorney General to investigate United States attorneys, marshals, trustees, clerks of court, and others

**(a)** The Attorney General may investigate the official acts, records, and accounts of—

for which purpose all the official papers, records, dockets, and accounts of these officers, without exception, may be examined by agents of the Attorney General at any time.

**(1)** the United States attorneys, marshals, trustees, including trustees in cases under title 11; and

**(2)** at the request and on behalf of the Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, the clerks of the United States courts and of the district court of the Virgin Islands, probation officers, United States magistrate judges, and court reporters;

**(b)** Appropriations for the examination of judicial officers are available for carrying out this section.

---

**Source Credit**: (Added Pub. L. 89–554, § 4(c), Sept. 6, 1966, 80 Stat. 615; amended Pub. L. 95–598, title II, §§ 219(a), (b), 220, Nov. 6, 1978, 92 Stat. 2662; Pub. L. 99–554, title I, § 144(c), Oct. 27, 1986, 100 Stat. 3096; Pub. L. 101–650, title III, § 321, Dec. 1, 1990, 104 Stat. 5117; Pub. L. 107–273, div. B, title IV, § 4003(b)(2), Nov. 2, 2002, 116 Stat. 1811.)

| Derivation | U.S. Code | Revised Statutes andStatutes at Large |
| --- | --- | --- |
|  | 5 U.S.C. 341b. | July 28, 1950, ch. 503, § 4, 64 Stat. 380. |
|  |  | July 7, 1958, Pub. L. 85–508, § 12(q), 72 Stat. 349. |

In subsection (b), the words “now or hereafter” and “the provisions of” are omitted as unnecessary.

## Editorial Notes

### Codification

, , , as amended by , , ; , , ; , , ; , , , 1783–45, and , , , 3341–45; , , , provided for the deletion of any references to United States Trustees in this title at a prospective date, prior to repeal by , , .

### Amendments

2002—, struck out “and” before “trustees” in section catchline.

Subsec. (a)(1). , substituted “marshals,” for “marshals,,”.

1986—, substituted “trustees” for “trustee” in section catchline.

Subsec. (a)(1). , inserted reference to trustees in cases under title 11.

Subsec. (a)(2). , struck out references to courts of the Canal Zone and trustees in cases under title 11.

1978—, substituted “marshals, and trustee” for “and marshals” in section catchline.

Subsec. (a)(1). , substituted “marshals, and trustees” for “and marshals”.

Subsec. (a)(2). , substituted “officers, trustees in cases under title 11” for “officers, referees, trustees and receivers in bankruptcy” and “magistrates” for “commissioners”.

## Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

### Change of Name

“United States magistrate judges” substituted for “United States magistrates” in subsec. (a)(2) pursuant to , set out as a note under .

### Effective Date of 1986 Amendment

Amendment by  effective 30 days after , see , set out as a note under .

### Effective Date of 1978 Amendment

Amendment by  effective , see , set out as an Effective Date note preceding , Bankruptcy.