independent counsel

independent counsel, in U.S. law, a judicially appointed investigator of charges of misdeeds by high government officials. Originally termed "special prosecutor," the position was first created by the 1978 Ethics in Government Act. Prompted by the Watergate affair, the purpose of the law was to avoid the conflict of interest that might develop if the executive branch (i.e., the Justice Dept.) investigated its own officials. The act expired in 1992, but a new independent counsel law was passed in 1994. The new law also permitted the investigation of members of Congress. The request for an appointment of an independent counsel was made by the attorney general; the counsel was appointed by an independent judicial board. An independent counsel was used to investigate the Iran-contra affair, Whitewater, and the Lewinsky scandal. In 1999, following prosecutor Kenneth Starr's confrontations with President Bill Clinton and the impeachment of the president, the law again expired and was not renewed. The attorney general now has sole responsibility for appointing outside prosecutors.

---

independent counsel

 formerly special prosecutor

Official appointed by the court at the request of the U.S. attorney general to investigate and prosecute criminal violations by high government officials, members of Congress, or directors of a presidential election campaign after an investigation by the attorney general finds evidence that a crime may have been committed. The counsel is intended to ensure an impartial investigation in situations in which the attorney general would face a conflict of interest. The law establishing the office was passed after the firing of Archibald Cox by Pres. Richard Nixon during the Watergate scandal. Independent counsels played a prominent role in the Iran-Contra Affair in the 1980s. In 1999, in the wake of controversy over perceived abuses of the office during the Whitewater investigation of Pres. Bill Clinton, Congress declined to renew the independent counsel law.