Start with the institution of special prosecutors, or, as they are now called, independent counsel. The 1978 Ethics in Government Act created a triple whammy for executive branch officials who crossed powerful congressmen. First, the law requires the appointment of independent counsel once allegations are made-allegations often made by congressmen and their staffs-that cannot be disproven within ninety days by an attorney general explicitly denied the power of subpoena or other information-gathering techniques! Second, once independent counsel is appointed, as we have seen, no matter how weak the evidence, there goes the political life of that official. After investigations by an independent counsel and an indictment in Bronx, New York, Raymond
