NCJ Number
133258
Journal
American Criminal Law Review Volume: 28 Issue: 3 Dated: special issue (1991) Pages: 473-492
Date Published
1991
Length
20 pages
Annotation
The Ethics in Government Act of 1978 as the organizational foundation and the 1989 Ethics Reform Act are explored in the context of changes or additions to the 1978 Act in order to provide an overview of the current state of Federal government ethics laws.
Abstract
Titles of the 1978 Act established the following: financial disclosure requirements across all three branches of the Federal Government, the Office of Government Ethics within the Office of Personnel Management, rules pertaining to conflicts of interest, a procedure requiring investigations by the Attorney General and the appointment of independent counsel, and authorization for the Office of Senate legal counsel to provide legal representations for the Senate and its members. In creating the independent counsel, Congress did not intend for the Department of Justice rules to apply the provisions of the independent counsel law to Congress, and the establishment of the special independent counsel of the Department of Justice may not be within the Attorney General's authority. There are indications, however, that current Attorney General Thornburgh and President Bush will support Department of Justice rules and other efforts to ensure ethical conduct on the part of government officials. 165 footnotes