Carter Signs Ethics in Government Act Creating Independent Counsel Statute

President Carter signed the Ethics in Government Act on October 26, 1978, creating a statutory independent counsel insulated from direct presidential removal. The law was a direct legislative response to the Saturday Night Massacre, establishing a court-appointed special prosecutor who could be fired only by the Attorney General for cause with judicial review. The independent counsel mechanism was later used in the Iran-Contra investigation under Reagan and the Lewinsky investigation under Clinton.