The Special Prosecutor in American Politics
The Special Prosecutor in American Politics

Author: Katy Jean Harriger

Publisher:

Published: 2000

Total Pages: 344

ISBN-13:

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The federal special prosecutor: unprincipled abuser of power or staunch defender of the law? As Katy Harriger shows, the special prosecutor was a hotly debated and controversial subject throughout much of its existence. This was especially true, she argues, during the lengthy, expensive, and highly-politicized investigations of Lawrence Walsh and Kenneth Starr into allegations concerning Presidents Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton. Harriger offers the most complete assessment available of the use of special prosecutors in the post-Watergate era. She analyzes the independent counsel's role within the framework of the separation of powers, explaining how each has interacted with other key players in the political and legal system and showing how those relationships have affected the prosecutor's ability to conduct investigations. Harriger's previous edition focused on the legacy of Watergate but was published before Walsh's Iran-Contra investigations were concluded. Her new study adds substantially more information on Iran-Contra, provides a clearheaded appraisal of Starr's sensationalized Whitewater-Lewinsky investigations, examines a number of senior-level cabinet probes, and critiques and clarifies the role of Attorney General Janet Reno in these latter matters. A completely new chapter compares Iran-Contra and Whitewater-Lewinsky to explore the limits of the law in the special prosecutor's efforts. In this new edition, Harriger includes 20 new interviews with Washington insiders-including one with Kenneth Starr-and covers the debates that led to both the reauthorization of the independent counsel statute in 1994 and its demise in 1999. She then examines the pros and cons of the office and offers constructive suggestions for improvement should it be revived. For students, scholars, and concerned citizens, her book takes us well beyond frenzied media hype and partisan politics to provide a timely reminder about the crucial role of separation of powers in our system of governance.

Independent Justice
Independent Justice

Author: Katy Jean Harriger

Publisher:

Published: 1992

Total Pages: 288

ISBN-13:

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Congress created the Office of the Special Prosecutor in 1978. Its mandate was to insure the rule of law, to check abuses of power in the executive branch, and to restore public confidence in government after the Watergate scandal. Harriger (politics, Wake Forest U.) focuses on the symbolic, constitutional, and political dimensions of her subject to provide a comprehensive, in-depth review of the Office of the Special Prosecutor and how it has operated in practice. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Prosecuting the President
Prosecuting the President

Author: Andrew Coan

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 2019

Total Pages: 249

ISBN-13: 0190943866

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"[This book provides a] history of special prosecutors in American politics. For more than a century, special prosecutors have struck fear into the hearts of presidents, who have the power to fire them at any time. How could this be, [the author] asks? And how could the nation entrust such a high responsibility to such subordinate officials? [The author] demonstrates that special prosecutors can do much to protect the rule of law under the right circumstances. Many have been thwarted by the formidable challenges of investigating a sitting president and his close associates; a few have abused the powers entrusted to them. But at their best, special prosecutors function as catalysts of democracy, channeling an unfocused popular will to safeguard the rule of law. By raising the visibility of high-level misconduct, they enable the American people to hold the president accountable. Yet, if a president thinks he can fire a special prosecutor without incurring serious political damage, he has the power to do so. Ultimately, [the author] concludes, only the American people can decide whether the President is above the law."--

Historical Encyclopedia of U.S. Independent Counsel Investigations
Historical Encyclopedia of U.S. Independent Counsel Investigations

Author: Gerald S. Greenberg

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2000-09-30

Total Pages: 428

ISBN-13: 1567507778

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This volume is a compilation of the U.S. federal special prosecutor/independent counsel investigations spanning the complete twenty-one year tenure from 1978-1999 of the independent counsel statute. The entries include individuals who have served as investigators; those who have been targets of investigations; all attorney generals who have called for appointment of special prosecutors; all presidents during whose terms of office such prosecutors served; and all legal cases that served to argue for or against the constitutionality of the independent counsel statute. These historical precedents are traced from Ulysses Grant's appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate the St. Louis Whiskey Scandal in 1875. More contemporary cases include Watergate, precipitated by Richard Nixon's Saturday Night Massacre dismissal of Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox in 1973; Independent Counsel Lawrence Walsh's Iran-Contra Investigation; and Special Prosecutor Ken Starr's Whitewater investigation of the Clintons and the ensuing permutations which brought individuals like Linda Tripp and Monica Lewinsky to prominence and also brought the statute calling for such investigations into constitutional debate. The book is fully cross-referenced and contains a comprehensive bibliography and index. It will be of interest to scholars and students of American History and Constitutional History.

The Special Counsel
The Special Counsel

Author: Mark Caro

Publisher: Mulholland Books

Published: 2019-12-10

Total Pages: 336

ISBN-13: 0316496278

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"This is the end of my presidency. I'm fucked." -President Donald Trump Imagine Special Counsel Robert Mueller got so frustrated with the U.S. attorney general that, instead of letting the Report on the Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election speak for itself, he allowed the full narrative of corruption, high crimes, and cover-ups to be revealed... With more than 350,000 copies sold, the Report on the Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Election has taken its place as the defining document of the Trump administration. Replete with some of the most infamous characters and outlandish schemes in modern American history, the underlying evidence in the Special Counsel's written testimony could have been plucked from the script of a blockbuster movie. But at 400-plus pages of bewildering redactions and impenetrable legal analysis, the text itself is so dense that even our elected officials have admitted to leaving the report unread. Now, stripped of legalese while still faithful to fact, The Special Counsel tells the story of what really happened in a compulsively readable-yet comprehensive-narrative. Whisking readers from Manhattan's Trump Tower to the rural towns of Pennsylvania and the frosty streets of St. Petersburg, this book brings to vivid life the people, places, and politics that have shaped our post-2016 lives. One thing is bone-chillingly clear: our democracy is under attack and only an informed American public can save it. The Special Counsel is as necessary as it is thrilling.