| • Science | • People | • Locations | • Timeline |
In 1978, a Democratic Congress determined to curb the powers of the President and other senior executive branch officials due in part to the Watergate scandal and related events such as the Saturday Night Massacre. They drafted the Ethics in Government Act , creating a special prosecutor (later changed to Independent Counsel) position, which could be used by Congress or the Attorney General to investigate individuals holding or formerly holding certain high positions in the federal government and in national Presidential election campaign organizations.
The prosecutor, who was appointed by a special panel of the Federal DC appeals court, could investigate allegations of any misconduct, with an unlimited budget and no deadline, and could only be dismissed by the Attorney General or a panel of three federal judges. As the president could not dismiss those investigating the executive branch it was felt that the independence of the office would insure impartiality of any reports presented to Congress. However, there have been many critics of this law including Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. Many argued the new Independent Counsel's office was a sort of "fourth branch" of government that had virtually unlimited powers and was answerable to no one. However, the constitutionality of the new office was ultimately upheld in the 1988 Supreme Court case Morrison v. Olson.
Previously under the Independent Counsel Reauthorization Act of 1994 United States Attorney General Janet Reno had Donald C. Smaltz appointed Independent Counsel by the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (Division for the Purpose of Appointing Independent Counsels Ethics in Government Act of 1978, As Amended, Division 94-2) on September 9, 1994, to "investigate to the maximum extent authorized by law "whether the US Department of AgricultureDepartment of Agriculture also called the Agriculture Department or USDA is a Cabinet department of the United States Federal Government. Its purpose is to develop and execute policy on farming, agriculture, and food. It aims to meet the needs of farmers Secretary Aphonso M. Espy "committed a violation of any federal criminal law . . . relating in any way to the acceptance of gifts by him from organizations or individuals with business pending before the Department of Agriculture." Smaltz was also given jurisdiction to investigate "other allegations or evidence of violations of any federal criminal law by organizations or individuals developed during the course of the investigation of Secretary Espy and connected with or arising out of that investigation."
The most famous Independent Counsel was Kenneth StarrKenneth Starr (born July 21, 1946) is an American lawyer and former judge who was appointed to the Office of the Independent Counsel to investigate the Whitewater land transactions by President Clinton and later the Monica Lewinsky scandal. Prior to his a, whose report led to the impeachmentImpeachment is the process by which a legislative body formally levels charges against a high official of government. Impeachment does not necessarily mean removal from office; it comprises only a formal statement of charges, akin to an indictment in crim of President Bill ClintonWilliam Jefferson Clinton (born William Jefferson Blythe III on August 19, 1946) is a U. politician who served two terms as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A moderate Democrat who was elected Governor of Arkansas five times, Cli. The most recently appointed and now dormant Office of the Independent Counsel was created to investigate the WhitewaterThe Whitewater scandal was an American political scandal which developed in Bill Clinton's first term as president, after the death of deputy White House counsel Vincent Foster. After Foster's death it was learned that chief White House counsel Bernard Nu and Monica LewinskyMonica Samille Lewinsky (born July 23, 1973) is an American businesswoman who was caught up in a sex scandal concerning her affair with U. President Bill Clinton while working as an intern at the White House. Lewinsky graduated with a Psychology degree fr scandals, among other prosecutions.
The Office of the Independent Counsel is not to be confused with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) which is an permanent independent federal investigative and prosecutorial agency whose basic legislative authority come from three federal statutes, the Civil Service Reform Act , the Whistleblower Protection ActA whistleblower is someone in an organization who witnesses behavior by members that is either contrary to the mission of the organization, or threatening to the public interest, and who decides to speak out publicly about it. For instance, Jeffrey Wigand, and the Hatch ActThe name Hatch Act is given to two unrelated pieces of United States federal legislation The Hatch Act of 1887 created Agricultural Experiment Stations in the USA. The Hatch Act of 1939 aimed at corrupt political practices, prevented federal civil servant.