Yes. With the ever growing size and scope of federal and state employees, this is an idea whose time has come.
That's what Grand Juries were supposed to be.
ML/NJ
“That’s what Grand Juries were supposed to be.”
We need PERMANENT Grand Juries.
“That’s what Grand Juries were supposed to be.”
The problem is they can only be called by the government AG, not the people. If we the people could convene a GJ that’s be great.
The problem there is that, as has been shown often, Grand Juries pretty much follow what the lead prosecutor wants. So, if the prosecutor is in the tank...
Random ideas — others may have better:
What may be needed is a system where panels of citizens without criminal records can be sort of randomly selected and empowered, similarly to a Grand Jury, but specifically for corruption investigations. The difference would be that as little as, say, a 1/4 vote of the panel is enough to continue pursuing an investigation. Also, a 1/4 vote of the panel can bring in outside legal expertise of the panel’s selection, for assistance. (Maybe the selection of expertise itself should require a 1/3 or 2/5 vote.)
Penalties for upper level gov’t officials convicted of corruption need to be much more draconian, but the benefits of whistleblowing higher level officials (than oneself) also need to be much enhanced.