Independent Counsel

The Office of Special Counsel was a prosecutorial unit within the United States Department of Justice that operated from 1978 until the expiration of its statutory authority on December 31, 1999. Created by the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, the office enabled the appointment of an independent counsel—a lawyer outside the Department's ordinary chain of command—tasked with investigating and, when warranted, prosecuting allegations of misconduct by high‑level federal officials.

When the relevant provisions of the Act lapsed, the position was supplanted by the role of special counsel established under 28 CFR part 600. Those regulations—drafted in 1999 by then‑Acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal—authorize the attorney general (or acting attorney general) to appoint a special counsel whenever a matter presents a conflict of interest for the Department or when an outside prosecutor would better serve the public interest.

Under the now‑defunct statute, an independent counsel was required—pursuant to —to submit a comprehensive final report to the United States Congress explaining investigative findings and the rationale for any prosecutorial decisions.

History

Creation in response to Watergate (1978)

In the aftermath of the Watergate scandal—and the related Saturday Night Massacre—a Democratic‑led Congress sought stronger checks on executive power. The result was the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, which authorized a court‑appointed special prosecutor (renamed independent counsel in 1983) to investigate senior federal officials and national campaign figures outside the normal Department of Justice chain of command.

Appointed by a three‑judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, an independent counsel received an unlimited budget, no statutory time limit, and could be removed only for "good cause" by the attorney general. Although designed to ensure impartiality, critics—most prominently Antonin Scalia in his lone dissent in '' Morrison v. Olson'' (1988)—argued that the post created a "fourth branch" unaccountable to the Constitution.

Notable independent‑counsel investigations (1983–1999)

* Iran–Contra (1987). Independent Counsel Lawrence Walsh investigated clandestine arms sales to Iran and diversion of proceeds to Nicaraguan rebels.
* Wedtech / Edwin Meese III (1987). Inquiry into allegations that the attorney general had aided a defense contractor for personal gain.
* Madison Guaranty / Whitewater (1994). Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr's probe into Arkansas real‑estate dealings expanded, culminating in a referral that led to the impeachment of President Bill Clinton by the United States House of Representatives (the Senate later acquitted him).
* Mike Espy gifts probe (1994). Under the 1994 reauthorization, Attorney General Janet Reno asked the court to appoint Donald Smaltz to investigate Agriculture Secretary Espy's acceptance of gifts from parties with business before the Department, with authority to pursue any related crimes uncovered.

The Act's authority lapsed on December 31, 1999, automatically terminating the office.

Transition to the special‑counsel model (1999–present)

Congress allowed the statute to expire, and the Department adopted 28 CFR part 600, drafted by then–Acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal, to govern special counsel appointments.

* Valerie Plame leak (2003). Patrick Fitzgerald was named special counsel to investigate the public exposure of the CIA officer's identity.
* Russian–interference probe (2017–2019). Robert Mueller examined Russian efforts to influence the 2016 election and links to the Trump campaign.
* Crossfire Hurricane review (2020). Attorney General William Barr converted federal prosecutor John Durham's inquiry into a special‑counsel investigation of the FBI's 2016 counterintelligence probe.
* Trump‑related matters (2022). Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Jack Smith to oversee investigations into classified documents retained at Mar‑a‑Lago and efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

Today, the special‑counsel mechanism—rooted in 28 USC § 510 and implemented through part 600—remains the Department's primary tool for handling politically sensitive investigations that present a conflict of interest for its regular hierarchy.

Timeline

* October 26, 1978: The Ethics in Government Act is signed into law, establishing the Office of Independent Counsel.
* January 3, 1983: Congress passes amendments to refine the office's authority under the ''Ethics in Government Act Amendments of 1982'' (96 Stat. 2039).
* December 15, 1987: The law is reauthorized for five more years under the ''Independent Counsel Reauthorization Act of 1987'' (101 Stat. 1293).
* December 15, 1992: The statute lapses after Congress fails to pass a reauthorization bill.
* June 30, 1994: Congress reinstates the independent counsel provisions by passing the ''Independent Counsel Reauthorization Act of 1994'' (PL 103–270).
* June 30, 1999: The reauthorization expires and Congress allows the statute to sunset.
* Late 1999: The Office of Independent Counsel is formally phased out. Its investigative function is replaced by the special counsel system defined under 28 CFR part 600.

Investigations carried out by independent counsel

See also

*Mueller special counsel investigation

References

External links

United States Office of the Independent Counsel
Official

Final Report of Independent Counsel Walsh (August 4, 1993)



Final Report of Independent Counsel Starr







Report on the Death of Vincent W. Foster, Jr,/by the Office of Independent Counsel in Re Madison Guaranty Savings and Loan Association
HATI Trust Digital Library, Universities of Michigan and Purdue, the complete 137 page, 2 vol. report with app., footnotes, and exhibits.

{{Special prosecutors and independent counsels of the U.S.

Independent Counsel
Independent Counsel
Prosecution services
Government agencies established in 1983
Government agencies disestablished in 1999
United States Department of Justice