Public Watchdogs or Imperial Pitbulls: An Evaluation of Special Prosecutor Investigations of Executive Branch Misconduct

The independent counsel investigation process was created to provide a politically neutral and independent avenue for investigating executive misconduct. Twenty investigations of high-ranking department and White House officials occurred during the independent counsel era. During this time, the process was criticized for a lack of accountability, for politicization, and for ineffectiveness in terms of investigatory outcomes. This research provides an empirical evaluation of the primary criticisms of the investigatory process by utilizing data concerning the investigations conducted during the independent counsel era (1978–1999), as well as information from more recent investigations conducted by special counsels appointed directly by the attorney general (1999 to the present). Specifically, I analyze the charge of lack of accountability by measuring the cost, duration, and expansion of jurisdiction for each independent and special counsel investigation. To analyze politicization of the process, I evaluated the impact of divided government and congressional involvement in the investigatory process. Last, the article provides a brief evaluation of the effectiveness of the investigations under review.