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Executive Order 13844 🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority Constitutional Fidelity (+0.60) 📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority

Executive Order 13844—Establishment of the Task Force on Market Integrity and Consumer Fraud

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Wednesday, July 11, 2018
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5 min read (990 words)
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83 Fed. Reg. 33115

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 5 min read (990 words) • ● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate

The Task Force shall include the following members: (i) the Deputy Attorney General, who shall serve as the Chair; (ii) the Associate Attorney General, who shall serve as the Vice Chair; (iii) the Assistant Attorney General (Criminal Division); (iv) the Assistant Attorney General (Civil Division); (v) the Assistant Attorney General (Tax Division); (vi) the Assistant Attorney General (Antitrust Division); (vii) the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; (viii) United States Attorneys designated by the Attorney General; and (ix) such other officers or employees of the Department of Justice as the Attorney General may from time to time designate.

⚖️ Constitutional Footing
🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority
Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Armed Forces & Military Establishments Merchants, Importers & Commercial Enterprises Sovereign State Governments & Localities Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants

Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis

Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.

Signed by President Donald J. Trump (1st Term) on July 11, 2018, this order concerns Establishment of the Task Force on Market Integrity and Consumer Fraud. The Attorney General shall establish within the Department of Justice a Task Force on Market Integrity and Consumer Fraud (Task Force). Sec. 2 . Membership and Operation . (a) The Task Force shall include the following members: (i) the Deputy Attorney General, who shall serve as the Chair; (ii) the Associate Attorney General, who shall serve as the Vice Chair; (iii) the Assistant Attorney General (Criminal…

Constitutional Assessment: Scrutinized through Article II, Section 2, this action exercises the President's constitutional role as Commander in Chief. Early Framers recognized broad executive discretion in commanding military forces during conflict, provided it remains bounded by congressional declarations and respects civilian domestic courts.

Key Directives & Operative Actions

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Membership and Operation

The Task Force shall include the following members: (i) the Deputy Attorney General, who shall serve as the Chair; (ii) the Associate Attorney General, who shall serve as the Vice Chair; (iii) the Assistant Attorney General (Criminal Division); (iv) the Assistant Attorney General (Civil Division); (v) the Assistant Attorney General (Tax Division); (vi) the Assistant Attorney General (Antitrust Division); (vii) the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; (viii) United States Attorneys designated by the Attorney General; and (ix) such other officers or employees of the Department of Justice as the Attorney General may from time to time designate.

▪
Additional Participation for Specified Functions

In the Task Force's performance of the functions set forth in subsection 4(a) and (c) of this order, and to the extent permitted by law, the Attorney General, or the Deputy Attorney General as his designee, shall periodically convene meetings and shall invite participation from the following senior officials from executive departments and agencies (agencies), or their designees, as well as such other officials of the Federal Government as the Attorney General or Deputy Attorney General deems appropriate: (a) the Secretary of the Treasury; (b) the Secretary of Defense; (c) the Secretary of Health and Human Services; (d) the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development; (e) the Secretary of Energy; (f) the Secretary of Education; (g) the…

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Functions

Consistent with the authorities assigned to the Attorney General by law, and other applicable law, the Task Force shall: (a) provide guidance for the investigation and prosecution of cases involving fraud on the government, the financial markets, and consumers, including cyber-fraud and other fraud targeting the elderly, service members and veterans, and other members of the public; procurement and grant fraud; securities and commodities fraud, as well as other corporate fraud, with particular attention to fraud affecting the general public; digital currency fraud; money laundering, including the recovery of proceeds; health care fraud; tax fraud; and other financial crimes; (b) provide recommendations to the Attorney General on fraud…

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Termination

The Task Force shall terminate when directed by the President or, with the approval of the President, by the Attorney General.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments 🏛️ Merchants, Importers & Commercial Enterprises 🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities 🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants 🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners
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The Framers' Constitutional Council

1787 Prism

Evaluating this order against the constitutional debates of 1787 and the limits of Article II executive power.

🏛️✅ Zone 1 (Maximum Authority)
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"When the President acts pursuant to an express or implied authorization of Congress, his authority is at its maximum, for it includes all that he possesses in his own right plus all that Congress can delegate."

— Justice Robert H. Jackson, Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (1952) Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
JM

James Madison

Separation of Powers & Legislative Primacy

"The constitutional magistracy was designed not to invent policy, but to be the faithful instrument of the laws passed by the people's representatives." — Speech in the First Congress (1789)

Madison would approve the structural posture of this order. The President acts strictly in subordination to statutory authority granted under Article II, Section 3 ("take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed"). The checks and balances hold firm because the policy origin remains with the legislature.

Madisonian Stance: Concurring (Statutory)
AH

Alexander Hamilton

The Energetic Executive & Unified Command

"The direction of war implies the direction of the common strength; and the power of directing and employing the common strength must be under the direction of the single hand of the Executive." — Federalist No. 74 (1788)

Hamilton would forcefully champion executive discretion here. For foreign entanglements, commerce defense, and national security, deliberative assemblies are too slow and faction-ridden. A unified, energetic Executive exercising swift command is precisely what the Philadelphia Convention intended for national preservation.

Hamiltonian Stance: Strong Prerogative Support
GM

George Mason

Bill of Rights, Due Process & 10th Amendment

"The president will be surrounded by flatterers and sycophants... and the great powers of the executive will gradually absorb the liberties of the people." — Cato IV (Anti-Federalist, 1787)

The Anti-Federalist prism advises continuous democratic vigilance. Even routine administrative directives aggregate centralized federal power away from town halls and state assemblies toward a distant executive apparatus.

Anti-Federalist Stance: Eternal Vigilance Required
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Five Measurable "Constitutional Friction" Dimensions

An objective audit measuring potential separation-of-powers tension against the United States Constitution and established Supreme Court doctrine.

⚖️ Discretionary Twilight Zone
46 / 100 friction index
Dimension 1 • Art. I, §1 & §8

Legislative Encroachment & Purse

Moderate Friction

Administers commerce or fiscal programs requiring ongoing statutory delegation and legislative oversight.

Benchmark: Power of the purse, taxes/tariffs, and rule of law reserved to Congress.
Dimension 2 • Art. II, §1 & §3

Executive Scope & Faithfulness

Moderate Friction

Directs internal executive branch machinery, agency workflows, and federal personnel.

Benchmark: Faithfully execute laws enacted by Congress vs. unilateral decree.
Dimension 3 • 10th Amendment

Federalism & State Sovereignty

High Friction

Creates friction with the Tenth Amendment by conditioning state grants, mandating local compliance, or preempting state police powers.

Benchmark: Police powers and un-delegated responsibilities reserved to the States.
Dimension 4 • 5th & 14th Amendments

Due Process & Individual Rights

Moderate Friction

Applies regulatory or compliance standards to private contractors or commercial entities.

Benchmark: Protection of private property, contracts, liberty, and procedural justice.
Dimension 5 • Separation of Powers

Youngstown Jacksonian Tier

Low Friction

The President operates strictly as the constitutional Chief Executive, carrying out policy established by Congress with strong statutory backing.

Benchmark: Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
⚖️ Audit Synthesis

This order operates within Justice Jackson’s Zone of Twilight, resting upon concurrent presidential authority or congressional silence.

Weighted composite: Art. I (25%), Art. II (25%), Federalism (15%), Due Process (15%), Youngstown (20%).
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How to read these dimensions: Executive power expands whenever an administration acts without explicit statutory authorization from Congress (Article I), touches upon police powers historically reserved to the states (Tenth Amendment), or limits private rights and property without judicial process. A low friction score indicates strict concordance with enacted law; a high friction score highlights orders testing the limits of presidential discretion.
Total Words
990
6,393 characters
Estimated Read Time
5 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
27.4
Post-Graduate Legal
Language Tone Score
+0.60
Constitutional Fidelity
How is this scored?
Text size:

Official Archival Text

View Source Document

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and in order to strengthen the efforts of the Department of Justice and Federal, State, local, and tribal agencies to investigate and prosecute crimes of fraud committed against the U.S. Government or the American people, recover the proceeds of such crimes, and ensure just and effective punishment of those who perpetrate crimes of fraud, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1 . #sec-1

Establishment . The Attorney General shall establish within the Department of Justice a Task Force on Market Integrity and Consumer Fraud (Task Force).

Sec. 2 . #sec-2

Membership and Operation . (a) The Task Force shall include the following members: (i) the Deputy Attorney General, who shall serve as the Chair; (ii) the Associate Attorney General, who shall serve as the Vice Chair; (iii) the Assistant Attorney General (Criminal Division); (iv) the Assistant Attorney General (Civil Division); (v) the Assistant Attorney General (Tax Division); (vi) the Assistant Attorney General (Antitrust Division); (vii) the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; (viii) United States Attorneys designated by the Attorney General; and (ix) such other officers or employees of the Department of Justice as the Attorney General may from time to time designate. (b) The Deputy Attorney General shall convene and direct the work of the Task Force in fulfilling its functions under this order. The Deputy Attorney General may permit, when appropriate, the designee of a member of the Task Force, including participants invited under section 3 of this order, to participate in lieu of the member or participant. The Deputy Attorney General shall convene the Task Force at such times as the Deputy Attorney General deems appropriate.

Sec. 3 . #sec-3

Additional Participation for Specified Functions . In the Task Force's performance of the functions set forth in subsection 4(a) and (c) of this order, and to the extent permitted by law, the Attorney General, or the Deputy Attorney General as his designee, shall periodically convene meetings and shall invite participation from the following senior officials from executive departments and agencies (agencies), or their designees, as well as such other officials of the Federal Government as the Attorney General or Deputy Attorney General deems appropriate: (a) the Secretary of the Treasury; (b) the Secretary of Defense; (c) the Secretary of Health and Human Services; (d) the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development; (e) the Secretary of Energy; (f) the Secretary of Education; (g) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; (h) the Secretary of Homeland Security; (i) the Administrator of the Small Business Administration; (j) the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System; (k) the Commissioner of Social Security; (l) the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development; (m) the Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection; (n) the Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission; (o) the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission; (p) the Administrator of General Services; (q) the Chairman of the National Credit Union Administration; (r) the Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission; (s) the Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; (t) the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency; (u) the Comptroller of the Currency; and (v) the Chief Postal Inspector for the Postal Inspection Service.

Sec. 4 . #sec-4

Functions . Consistent with the authorities assigned to the Attorney General by law, and other applicable law, the Task Force shall: (a) provide guidance for the investigation and prosecution of cases involving fraud on the government, the financial markets, and consumers, including cyber-fraud and other fraud targeting the elderly, service members and veterans, and other members of the public; procurement and grant fraud; securities and commodities fraud, as well as other corporate fraud, with particular attention to fraud affecting the general public; digital currency fraud; money laundering, including the recovery of proceeds; health care fraud; tax fraud; and other financial crimes; (b) provide recommendations to the Attorney General on fraud enforcement initiatives across the Department of Justice and on any matters the Task Force determines from time to time to be important in the investigation and prosecution of fraud and other financial crimes; and (c) make recommendations to the President, through the Attorney General for: (i) action to enhance cooperation among agencies in the investigation and prosecution of fraud and other financial crimes; (ii) action to enhance cooperation among Federal, State, local, and tribal authorities in connection with the detection, investigation, and prosecution of fraud and other financial crimes; and (iii) changes in rules, regulations, or policy, or recommendations to the Congress regarding legislative measures, to improve the effective investigation and prosecution of fraud and other financial crimes.

Sec. 5 . #sec-5

General Provisions . (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect: (i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or (ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals. (b) This Task Force shall replace the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force created by Executive Order 13519 of November 17, 2009 (Establishment of the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force). The Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force is hereby terminated pursuant to section 8 of Executive Order 13519 and that order is hereby revoked. (c) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations. (d) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

Sec. 6 . #sec-6

Termination . The Task Force shall terminate when directed by the President or, with the approval of the President, by the Attorney General. DONALD J. TRUMP The White House, July 11, 2018.

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Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order No. 13,844, 83 Fed. Reg. 33,115 (July 11, 2018).