Why is an Independent Counsel used for this type of investigation rather than the Attorney General or a U.S. Attorney?
A. The Watergate investigation in the 1970s was initially conducted by the U.S. Justice Department, a part of the Executive Branch. The head of the Justice Department is the Attorney General, an appointee of the President. During Watergate, it was felt by many that investigators within the Justice Department could not truly be independent. When President Nixon ordered the firing of the “special prosecutor” investigating Watergate, and his own Attorney General and his deputy resigned in protest in the “Saturday Night Massacre,” these fears seemed to be borne out.
