92
Opinion of the Court
9040(d), applies only to actions under chapters 95 and 96 of Title 26. It authorizes the FEC "on behalf of the United States to appeal from, and to petition the Supreme Court for certiorari to review, judgments or decrees entered with respect to actions in which it appears pursuant to the authority provided in this section."
The FEC brought this civil enforcement action seeking to establish a violation of 2 U. S. C. § 441b(a), a provision of the FECA. As noted above, 2 U. S. C. § 437d(a)(6) authorizes the FEC to "initiate" and "appeal" an FECA enforcement action such as the present one. Thus, no dispute exists as to the FEC's authority to litigate this case in the District Court or the Court of Appeals; 1 the question here concerns only the FEC's independent litigating authority before this Court when it proceeds under § 437d(a)(6).
Title 28 U. S. C. § 518(a) provides in pertinent part:
"Except when the Attorney General in a particular case directs otherwise, the Attorney General and the Solicitor General shall conduct and argue suits and appeals in the Supreme Court . . . in which the United States is interested."
By regulation, the Attorney General has delegated authority to the Solicitor General:
"The following-described matters are assigned to, and shall be conducted, handled, or supervised by, the Solicitor General, in consultation with each agency or official concerned:
"(a) Conducting, or assigning and supervising, all Supreme Court cases, including appeals, petitions for
1 Under 28 U. S. C. §§ 516 and 519, the conduct of litigation on behalf of the United States and its agencies is subject to control of the Attorney General "[e]xcept as otherwise authorized by law." The FEC's "initiation" and "appeal" of this action fall within this "otherwise authorized by law" exception.
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