How Should the Independent Counsel be Held Accountable?
This is the most vexing problem in reforming the Act. At root, the problem is both a pragmatic and constitutional one, because there is no clear-cut answer to the question of “what individual or institution in the government should hold an Independent Counsel accountable?” For obvious reasons, the statute must insulate the Independent Counsel from any control or supervision by the President. Nor can the courts direct or supervise the work of Independent Counsel. As the Supreme Court explained in Morrison v. Olson, 487 U.S. 654 (1988), although it is constitutionally permissible for the courts to appoint Independent Counsel, Counsel are nonetheless part of the Executive Branch of government, and it would be too great an encroachment on Executive Branch prerogatives for the courts to assume greater supervisory power over the work of Independent Counsel than is already assigned to them under the Act. The same separation of powers problem precludes active supervision of the work of the Ind
