The Differences Between Special Counsel and Independent Council

There are a lot of misconceptions about that. Special councils, that is attorneys appointed from outside the department for the purpose of taking over sensitive investigations have been around for a long time. The first one was appointed, I believe, in 1875. There was the Teapot Dome special counsel in 1923. And of course, most famously, the Watergate special prosecutor who was a former special counsel.