Question - Isn't it CONGRESS that calls for a Special Counsel?

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

There seems to be a lot of confusion about this. Who got Fitzgerald involved in the Plame outing? And isn't the call made when they feel an issue is too emeshed in politics for it to be done through the usual channels? And doesn't the Special Counsel open an investigation where he/she interviews all the witnesses and then if he/she finds something they present to a Grand Jury?

And isn't there often competition between Senate investigations and Special Counsels in the sense that no Senate panel should be offering immunity for testimony to people who are under an active criminal investigation? And at the same time, little comes from testimony of witnesses as we saw with the Justice Department hearings because they all take the fifth.

[MADem]

1. The process started out as a PRESIDENTIAL gig.

Later, Congress initiated oversight. That oversight "sunsetted" ten years ago.

Now, it's an executive branch gig again.

http://www.answers.com/topic/special-prosecutor

Background:

Over the controversial twenty-year life span of the independent counsel law, more than twenty separate independent counsel investigations were conducted, some branching out into multiple areas of criminal inquiry. No presidency was immune from its reach. Independent counsel investigations surfaced during the Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, and Bill Clinton administrations.

The Iran-Contra investigation stirred up particular controversy, spanning seven years during the Reagan and Bush administrations. Headed by former judge Lawrence Walsh, this criminal probe involved a scandal in which the government secretly sold arms to Iran and diverted the profits to aid Nicaraguan rebels after Congress prohibited such activity. Walsh obtained a number of indictments and convictions. However, key convictions of Admiral John Poindexter and Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North were overturned on appeal. President Bush, who was implicated in the scandal but never charged with wrongdoing, pardoned the remaining principals.

Opponents of the independent counsel law, many of them Republicans critical of the lengthy and expensive (over $48 million) Iran-Contra probe, argued that the law was fundamentally flawed and had created a monstrous prosecutor unaccountable to any branch of government. In Morrison v. Olson (1989) the Supreme Court rejected a variety of constitutional attacks, upholding the independent counsel statute. Yet the drumbeat for the law's demise continued. In 1992, at the end of the Bush administration, Congress refused to reauthorize the independent counsel statute, allowing it to lapse.

In early 1994, Attorney General Janet Reno appointed her own ad hoc special prosecutor, the respected New York attorney Robert Fiske, to head the Whitewater investigation. This scandal involved a failed Arkansas land deal of the 1980s in which President Bill Clinton and his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, had invested. Ironically, President Clinton and Reno supported a renewal of the independent counsel law, prompting Congress to reenact it. The special three-judge panel overseeing the White-water investigation, believing that reappointment of the attorney general's ad hoc prosecutor would taint the process, unexpectedly replaced Fiske with the more controversial Kenneth W. Starr. ....After a draining Senate trial, during which the American public grew increasingly weary, the senators voted along party lines to acquit President Clinton in February 1999.

A month later, Congress commenced hearings to debate reauthorizing the independent counsel statute, which was scheduled to "sunset" in June 1999. In an unusual twist, both Reno and Starr publicly opposed reenactment of the special prosecutor law, concluding in hindsight that it had been an unmitigated disaster. Swamped by criticism from both sides of the political aisle, the independent counsel law expired on 30 June 1999.

Following the death of the independent counsel statute, Congress continued to debate possible replacement legislation to deal with scandals in the executive branch without reaching a consensus. Instead, the attorney general and the Justice Department continued to promulgate regulations by which they hire and fire their own special prosecutors as needed, following the ad hoc Watergate model. These special prosecutors, however, remained attached to the executive branch. Thus, they lacked the aura of neutrality envisioned by the ill-fated special prosecutor law of the 1970s that was designed to restore public trust in government after the devastating experience of Watergate.

[kentuck]

2. I think they kicked it to the Justice Dept because....

most scandals and questions about investigations arose during the Administration that was holding power. It gave the President the power to appoint a special investigator, which he was not prone to do, while he was in office. It was not thought that investigations would carry over to the succeeding Administration when it was passed. It would be out of precedent. However, in this case, I think it will be up to the Attorney-General as to how far this investigation will go?

[MADem]

7. That link I offered is a pretty good "history in a nutshell." Starts with US Grant, in fact.

The Investigator, whatever you want to call him or her, is going to have to come out of the Executive branch, because Congress sunsetted the SP provision ten years ago.

[stillcool]

3. That's an independent counsel..

not a special prosecutor. I think a Special Prosecutor is appointed by Congress or the Attorney General.

[MADem]

4. NO. Read the link. It's long but it explains the evolution. nt

[stillcool]

8. The Office of Special Counsel...

performs the same duties as an Independent Counsel used to?

[MADem]

10. NO. Not at ALL. They protect WORKERS. Government workers.

Look at their charter and their authorities: Our basic authorities come from three federal statutes, the Civil Service Reform Act, the Whistleblower Protection Act, and the Hatch Act.

They protect civil servants who are whistleblowers, they investigate fraud in government agencies, they handle Equal Employment complaints, they crack down (or not, during BUSHCO) on Hatch Act (political activity in the workplace) shenanigans...but they aren't going to investigate "major" shit like Watergate, involving Cabinet level apppointees and others in government.

http://www.osc.gov/

[stillcool]

13. That's what I thought..

so what replaced the "Special Counsel" that ended with Kenneth Starr.

[MADem]

15. Nothing. We went back to the old ad hoc way that it was done back when

Nixon abused the process and caused the law (with an expiration date) to be created. The executive branch gins up a "good guy" to do the work. No one gripes if both sides perceive the person as fair.

[stillcool]

5. I know about Special Prosecutors..

that are appointed by Congress or the Attorney General. Here is info on the Office of Special counsel.

Who We Are

The U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) is an independent federal investigative and prosecutorial agency. Our basic authorities come from three federal statutes, the Civil Service Reform Act, the Whistleblower Protection Act, and the Hatch Act.
Our Mission

OSC’s primary mission is to safeguard the merit system by protecting federal employees and applicants from prohibited personnel practices, especially reprisal for whistleblowing. For a description of prohibited personnel practices (PPPs), click on the prohibited personnel practices link.
What We Do

PPPs & Whistleblower Protection

OSC receives, investigates, and prosecutes allegations of PPPs, with an emphasis on protecting federal government whistleblowers. OSC seeks corrective action remedies (such as back pay and reinstatement), by negotiation or from the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), for injuries suffered by whistleblowers and other complainants. OSC is also authorized to file complaints at the MSPB to seek disciplinary action against individuals who commit PPPs. For more information on how we process PPP complaints, click on the prohibited personnel practices link.

Disclosure Unit

OSC provides a secure channel through its Disclosure Unit for federal workers to disclose information about various workplace improprieties, including a violation of law, rule or regulation, gross mismanagement and waste of funds, abuse of authority, or a substantial danger to public health or safety. For more information on our Disclosure Unit, click on the Whistleblower Disclosures link.

Hatch Act Unit (Political Activity)

OSC promotes compliance by government employees with legal restrictions on political activity by providing advisory opinions on, and enforcing, the Hatch Act. Every year, OSC’s Hatch Act Unit provides over a thousand advisory opinions, enabling individuals to determine whether their contemplated political activities are permitted under the Act.

The Hatch Act Unit also enforces compliance with the Act. Depending on the severity of the violation, OSC will either issue a warning letter to the employee, or prosecute a violation before the MSPB. For more information on our Hatch Act Unit, click on the Hatch Act link.

Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (Veterans’ Rights)

OSC protects the reemployment rights of federal employee military veterans and reservists under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA). For more information on how we protect veterans’ rights under USERRA, click on the USERRA link.

Employee Information Programs

Section 2302(c) of title 5 of the U.S. Code makes agency heads and officials with personnel authority responsible (in consultation with the OSC) for informing federal employees of their rights and remedies under chapters 12 and 23 of title 5. These chapters deal with prohibited personnel practices, whistleblower disclosures, political activity, and access to the OSC and the Merit Systems Protection Board.

The OSC endeavors to assist agencies in carrying out their employee information responsibilities, including by the development of a general guide to federal employee rights and remedies under title 5. Click on the Publications Link for Microsoft Power Point versions of this resource.
How OSC is Organized

The OSC is headed by the Special Counsel, who is appointed by the President, and confirmed by the Senate. The agency employs approximately 106 employees (primarily personnel management specialists, investigators and attorneys) to carry out its government-wide responsibilities. They work in the headquarters office in Washington, D.C., and in the Dallas, Texas, and San Francisco Bay Area field offices, and Detroit, Michigan office.

OSC Organizational Chart

OSC Leadership Biographical Information
William E. Reukauf, Acting Special Counsel
Erin M. McDonnell, Associate Special Counsel for Legal Counsel and Policy
Leonard Dribinsky, Senior Associate Special Counsel for Investigation and Prosecution Division

[Zen Democrat]

6. Fitzgerald was named by Comey, Acting AG, at the behest of the CIA.

It's always the Justice Department naming Special Prosecutors.

Remembering the Saturday Night Massacre, Nixon called on AG Richardson to fire Archibald Cox; he wouldn't do it and resigned. The next guy in line wouldn't do it either, and resigned. It got down to the Solicitor General, Robert Bork, and he did it. That's why he was rewarded with a Supreme Court nomination for loyalty -- it's the most important thing to the Dark Side. It was a great day when the Dems kept him out off the Court. And a sad sorry day when Scalia and Thomas were put on the Court.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

9. Thanks to all who took the time to answer my question.

:hi: I feel enlightened. It's amazing how fast you can forget this stuff until it's immediately relevant.

[MADem]

12. Flashbacks!!! Watergate!!! Lewinsky!! Aggggh!!!!! nt

[Captain Hilts]

14. Haldeman, Lewinsky and Libby - Oh my!!!! nt

[MADem]

16. .........

:rofl:

We're off to see the wizard....!

[mmonk]

11. Special=executive branch, independent =legislative.