Special Prosecutors and Independent Counsels Records
Established by the Ethics in Government Act Amendments of 1982 (96 Stat. 2039) on January 3, 1983. Predecessor Agency was Special Prosecutors (1978-1982). Reauthorized for five years by the Independent Counsel Reauthorization Act of 1987 (101 Stat. 1293), December 15, 1987, however, lapsed on December 15, 1992, by failure of reauthorization. Reauthorized for five years by the Independent Counsel Reauthorization Act of 1994 (108 Stat. 732), June 30, 1994. Act expired June 30, 1999.
Functions:
Investigated, and either dismissed or prosecuted, allegations of violations of federal criminal law, above the misdemeanor level, by individuals holding or formerly holding certain high positions in the Federal Government and in national Presidential election campaign organizations.
The National Archives and Records Administration maintain custody of the records of independent counsels that have completed their investigations.
Contact Us
For questions about these records or copying information, there are several ways to contact us:
You can write to the Special Access and FOIA Staff,
National Archives at College Park
Room 5500,
8601 Adelphi Road
College Park, MD 20740-6001,
Phone: (301) 837-3190
Fax: (301) 837-1864
E-mail: specialaccess_foia@nara.gov
Our Customer Service telephone is (301) 837-3190.
Security-Classified Records:
This record group may include material that is security-classified.
Access to these records is governed by the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552, as amended.) Many documents and files have been screened under the provisions of the FOIA and are open for research. The Special Access and FOIA Staff maintain finding aids that list many of the subjects that have records available for immediate release.
Related Records:
Records of the Watergate Special Prosecution Force, RG 460.
Special Prosecutor and Independent Counsel Records at the National Archives
- Watergate Special Prosecution Force, 1971-77
- Special Prosecutor Arthur H. Christy relating to Hamilton Jordan, 1979-80
- Special Prosecutor Gerald J. Gallinghouse relating to Timothy Kraft, 1980-82
- Independent Counsel Leon Silverman relating to Raymond Donovan, 1981-89
- Independent Counsel Jacob A. Stein relating to Edwin Meese III, 1984
- Independent Counsel Whitney North Seymour, Jr. relating to Michael Deaver, 1981-89
- Independent Counsel Alexia Morrison relating to Theodore Olson, 1986-88
- Independent Counsel James C. McKay relating to Franklin Nofziger and Edwin Meese III, 1970-89
- Independent Counsel Lawrence Walsh relating to Iran/Contra, 1986-93
- Independent Counsel Arlen Adams/Larry Thompson relating to Samuel Pierce, 1981-98
- Independent Counsel Joseph DiGenova relating to improper search of passport records, 1992-95
- Independent Counsel Kenneth W. Starr/Robert Ray/Julie Thomas, 1994-2004
- Independent Counsel Curtis Emery von Kann relating to Eli J. Segal, 1996-98
You may also wish to:
- visit the Independent Counsels section of the Guide to the National Archives of the United States;
- locate government publications relating to Independent Counsels;
- search for descriptions of related records in the National Archives Catalog