Independent Counsels

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on independent counsels who have been active since 1987, focusing on each independent counsel's: (1) appointment date, final report date, and investigation subject; (2) expenditures for the period June 11, 1985, through March 31, 1996; and (3) office rent expenditure information. GAO noted that: (1) during any 6-month reporting period, independent counsels might also incur other significant costs that are paid from appropriations other than the permanent, indefinite appropriation established to fund independent counsel activities; (2) independent counsels are not required to and do not include such costs in their statements of expenditures, but GAO included these costs as other unaudited operating costs; and (3) GAO was unable to verify most of the expenditures because of the poor condition of independent counsel records prior to 1992.