claim: Dan Brown is an author.
evidence: A special prosecutor -LRB- or special counsel or independent counsel -RRB- is a lawyer appointed to investigate and possibly prosecute a specific legal case of potential wrongdoing for which a conflict of interest exists for the usual prosecuting authority .. lawyer. lawyer. investigate. investigation. prosecute. prosecution. conflict of interest. conflict of interest. For example , the investigation of an allegation against a sitting president or attorney-general might be handled by a special prosecutor rather than an ordinary prosecutor , who would otherwise be in the position of investigating their own boss .. allegation. allegation. president. president. attorney-general. attorney-general. Investigations into others connected to the government but not in a position of direct authority over the prosecutor , such as cabinet secretaries or election campaigns , have also been handled by special prosecutors .. The term is not specific to the United States , nor to the federal government .. United States. United States. According to Harriger , the concept originates in state law  : `` state courts have traditionally appointed special prosecutors when the regular government attorney was disqualified from a case , whether for incapacitation or interest . ''. While the most prominent special prosecutors have been those appointed since the 1870s to investigate presidents and those connected to them , the term can also be used to refer to any prosecutor appointed to avoid a conflict of interest or appearance thereof .. investigate. investigation. conflict of interest. conflict of interest. For example , because district attorneys ' offices work closely with police , some activists argue that cases of police misconduct at the state and local level should be handled by `` special prosecutors '' .