Jimmy Carter

Carter won the 1976 election promising 'I will never lie to you', and his administration turned post-Watergate distrust into law. He signed the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, which created financial disclosure for senior officials and the Office of Government Ethics, the Inspector General Act placing independent auditors inside federal departments, and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act requiring court warrants for intelligence wiretaps. Inspectors general remain a central accountability tool, though their independence has been tested by later presidents.