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Constitutional Law Keyed to Barnett
Morrison v. Olson
Citation:
487 U.S. 654 (1988)Facts
After the Watergate scandal, Congress passed a law (the Ethics in Government Act) which allowed a panel of three federal judges (a “special division”) to appoint an Independent Counsel to investigate the crimes of high-ranking officials in the U.S. government (after the U.S. Attorney General decided there were grounds for a further investigation). The Independent Counsel could investigate and decide whether to prosecute certain officials. Additionally, the independent counsel could be fired by the Attorney General for good cause, physical disability, or mental incapacity.
This case resulted when subcommittees of the House of Representatives subpoenaed documents held by the Environmental Protection Agency, an Executive branch agency. The President at the time, Ronald Regan, asserted executive privilege and directed the EPA not to turn over the documents. The House of Representatives cited the director of the EPA for contempt of Congress for failing to turn over the documents. Subsequently, members of the House of Representatives launched an investigation into the controversy and issued a report which questioned the truthfulness of testimony on the matter given by Appellee Ted Olson, the Assistant Attorney General for White House Office of Legal Counsel. The House of Representatives requested that the Attorney General appoint an independent counsel to investigate Appellee Olson.
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