Senators Bob Dole and George Mitchell Chair Study of Independent Counsel Statute

At the initiative of former Senators George J. Mitchell and Bob Dole, the American Enterprise Institute and the Brookings Institution have launched a project analyzing alternative mechanisms for investigating charges against high-ranking government officials and making recommendations for revising or replacing the independent counsel statute that sunsets on June 30, 1999.

A Working Group of eight members with broad experience in government and the law, including Zoë Baird, Drew S. Days III, Carla A. Hills, Bill Paxon, John G. Roberts, Jr., David E. Skaggs, Dick Thornburgh, and Mark H. Tuohey III, are examining experiences under the current statute and under previous arrangements and formulating bipartisan recommendations for improving upon that experience. Their report will be released in early May 1999.

Co-chairs Dole and Mitchell and members of the Working Group are being assisted by project co-directors Thomas E. Mann and Norman J. Ornstein, counsel Michael Davidson, associate counsel Elaine Stone, and consultant Dennis C. Shea.