# Not understanding the American system of government. Elected officials can just decide who to investigate or not?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-understanding-the-american-system-of-government-elected-officials-can-just-decide-who-to-investigate-or-not/1026696>\
**Category:** Politics & Elections\
**Tags:** trump\
**Created:** [January 14, 2026, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-understanding-the-american-system-of-government-elected-officials-can-just-decide-who-to-investigate-or-not/1026696 "2026-01-14T15:58:00Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 41

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**Author:** ![CoolHandCox](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coolhandcox/32/16233_2.png) [@CoolHandCox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoolHandCox)\
**Post date:** [January 20, 2026, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-understanding-the-american-system-of-government-elected-officials-can-just-decide-who-to-investigate-or-not/1026696/41 "2026-01-20T16:30:22Z")

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> [@Max\_S](#):
>
> While all non-impeachment federal prosecutions fall under the President’s executive power, some federal investigations are considered legislative oversight and therefore fall under legislative power. For example, this is why “special counsel” enjoy some level of independence from the President (e.g. Mueller, Starr) yet perplexingly have to refer cases for actual prosecution.

I’ll tease this out some more. Let’s get into the different types of prosecutors and where the authority flows from:

Normal Prosecutor = Executive branch

Independent Counsel = Legislative branch (_1970s - 1990s_)

Special Counsel = Executive branch (_created after Independent Counsel Act expired_)

I think the Independent Prosecutor is the closest solution to the problem of making norms stick since the DOJ/Executive cannot just pull the plug on them. They are laws. Everyone will have to decide if that independence is worth it, though.

Also, all three types of prosecutors can and have prosecuted cases. Special Counsel and Independent Counsel are not just investigators. Both Mueller and Starr charged and prosecuted cases. However, I think what people remember are their declining to prosecute the President while the President was still in office.

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