It's still possible to request a special counsel to investigate accusations that raise potential conflicts of interest for the Justice Department. But the question is now left to Attorney General John Ashcroft's discretion.

So far, Ashcroft hasn't appointed any. And, with a handful of exceptions, congressional Republicans have avoided holding hearings that might embarrass the president -- on precisely who was responsible for including disputed intelligence claims in the State of the Union address in January, for instance.

In contrast, by the end of Clinton's first term, Republicans on the Government Reform Committee had issued 40 subpoenas and held three hearings into the firing of workers at the White House travel office and four into the release of confidential FBI files on past officials to a junior White House aide. Five special counsels had been appointed by judicial panels to pursue allegations against Clinton and his Cabinet.