Special Prosecutor vs Independent Councel

[calamity]

The wife and I discussed this one last night--as an aside, I must say, the biggest win in our family resulting from this Trump thing is that it has the wife boning up on her civics and government. She used to be like most Americans, ignorant of the inner workings. I'm hoping she is not the only one getting an education thanks to the Orange Orangutan.

So, what is the difference between the old Independent Counsel (IC)--think Kenneth Starr--and the Special Prosecutor (SP)? My first response to the wife was that the Independent IC worked for Congress. Although technically a "prosecutor," he basically works for Capital Hill. The IC collects data, which he then passed onto the Representatives by submitting a report. He cannot "prosecute" anyone in a court of law, only in Congress. The IC is, more or less, a political tool.

A SP, OTOH, is an independent representative of the DOJ. He can convene a grand jury, try a case before a criminal judge, and put your ass in jail. He is a law enforcer. (BTW: Trump can fire him--just to pass that along, in case you were wondering.)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Office_of_the_Independent_Counsel

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_prosecutor

 

[Vetplus40]

We need to let Mueller do his job. My guess is that Trump will obstruct at every possible opportunity, but we shall see.

For somebody claiming to be so innocent, Trump surely objects to every action that wants to look into his activities.