"Neither the office of the attorney general nor the comptroller's office, agencies with knowledge of the settlement agreement and the secret payout, raised any objection to inclusion of such a confidentiality clause, " the report stated.
But peers agreed by a 21-vote majority to remove the relevant clause from the Crime and Courts Bill, during report stage of the legislation on 27 November 2012.
That Clause requires Senate confirmation for principal U.S. officers, other than inferior officers, who report to and may be removed by higher officers appointed by the President.