ACCORDING TO THIS CATO PAPER, coauthored by two Knoxville attorneys, federal grand juries have too much power. I’m no expert on this, but my sense is that the real problem isn’t just the power, but rather their lack of independence. Federal grand juries are mostly just arms of the prosecution, whose nominal — but not real — independence is useful for prosecutors.

Make ’em genuinely independent, and, well, the politicians would be running for cover, I suspect, which is why they aren’t.