Glossary of Terms
Investigations and Related Events
Ethics in Government Act. The 1978 Ethics in GovernmentAct contained the independent counsel statute, removing the responsibilityfor investigation of high-level government officials from theattorney general and other Justice Department officials and placingit in the hands of an independent counsel, appointed for eachinquiry by a three-judge panel at the request of the attorneygeneral.Iran-Contra. During President Ronald Reagan’s second term, reports surfaced that high-level Administration officials had approved a plan in which the Federal Government secretly sold arms to Iran in exchange for that government’s help in securing the release of American hostages held by terrorists in Lebanon. The arm sales were…
