History Main / EliteAgentsAboveTheLaw

*** Recurring character Mara Jade is a Force-sensitive who was trained by Emperor Palpatine to be an "Emperor's Hand", a spy and assassin answering directly to him. ''Literature/TheThrawnTrilogy'' and later-written {{prequel}}s such as ''[[Literature/StarWarsAllegiance Allegiance]]'' give some indications as to the scope of her duties: in ''Dark Force Rising'' she tries (and fails) to ForceChoke Grand Admiral Thrawn after he betrays her, and implies that she was permitted to kill even Imperial military personnel more or less at will if she could adequately defend it to the Emperor. Palpatine's death left her unemployed; she found work as a smuggler and gun for hire, and Luke Skywalker begins training her as a Jedi in ''The Last Command''.

*** {{Discussed|Trope}} in the ''Literature/NewJediOrder'' novel ''Destiny's Way''. Luke, by now the official Grandmaster of the Jedi Order, has a less-than-cordial encounter with a New Republic politician named Fyor Rodan, who wants to remove this trope from the Jedi. He seeks to make the Jedi Order a formal branch of the New Republic Defense Force, which among other things would make it possible to CourtMartial Jedi Knights who fall to the dark side or otherwise go rogue. Luke prefers to keep the Order independent, feeling, as the Old Republic's Jedi did, that their purpose is to serve the Force rather than the political and military needs of the Republic. The status quo is a bit messy since many Jedi Knights also hold NRDF commissions.

But what if the agency itself doesn't answer itself to the relevant department/ministry head? Some of the reasons include BenevolentConspiracy or an AncientOrderOfProtectors who is only held accountable to the leader of a certain country, or even possibly to no one at all. [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections This places them outside the nation-state's normal legal and accountability structure]], which if the agents remain loyal, can make them [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans more effective protectors]] than operators who have to answer to {{Obstructive Bureaucrat}}s--or conversely, makes them more effective at [[DespotismJustifiesTheMeans maintaining a tyrant's grip on power]] than agents who can be sent to prison for abuse of power. If they ''don't'', they may turn into {{Rogue Agent}}s, or even a full-blown RenegadeSplinterFaction that becomes a threat to the very government that spawned them.

* Being loyal to the [[TheMenInBlack original urban myth]], the ''ComicBook/MenInBlack'' is an obscure organization that goes beyond any laws to controls the world and stops any abnormal activity like extraterrestrials, demons, and even sects. Different from [[Film/MenInBlack their]] [[WesternAnimation/MenInBlackTheSeries adaptations]], the original source doesn't work as the "world police" but closest as it gets to the MIB myth, shaping the world as they like and having no compassion to any witnesses (or maybe yes by recruiting them).
* ''ComicBook/StarWarsLegacy'': The Galactic Empire's Imperial Knights are Force-users who answer directly to the Emperor. However, they use the light side (and dislike the term "gray Jedi" used for them by the Galactic Alliance's mainstream Jedi Order), and also have the responsibility of ''stopping'' the Emperor (a trained Imperial Knight himself, since the royal family are Skywalker-Solo descendants) should he ever fall to the dark side.

* ''Fanfic/BaitAndSwitchSTO'': Rachel Connor's story arc deals a great deal with the existence of Section 31, which acquired her as a Borg drone and turned her into a SuperSoldier immune to Borg assimilation. S31 certainly ''believe'' themselves to be safeguarding the Federation; however, expanding on their original portrayal in ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', they're shown working to disrupt neighboring countries, including ostensibly friendly ones like the Klingon Empire and Romulan Republic, and even [[WellIntentionedExtremist plotting the assassinations of Federation officials they think aren't militant enough in advancing the country's interests]]. This escalates to the point where [[spoiler:the Federation is forced to disavow the agency entirely and designate it a terrorist organization]]. {{Discussed}} in [[https://archiveofourown.org/works/21102830 "Rock Bottom"]]: Starfleet Captain Kanril Eleya, Rachel's CO, believes that the lack of accountability made S31's [[FaceHeelTurn descent into ultranationalism]] inevitable.
-->"... you know, some rules, they're there for a reason. We're sworn to the Articles of the Federation, and the laws that say we're accountable to the government and the people who elected it, those are ''important''. ''(touches her rank insignia)'' Like I told [Agent Grell]. Poisoned tree. It's a wraith's gift, not having accountability, makes you think you're the only one who knows what's right, who can make decisions. Section 31... they were always going to go bad."

* The main conflict of ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar'' is set off by this trope. With [[spoiler:the collapse of SHIELD]] in ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier'', the Avengers are now effectively an NGOSuperpower with no civilian oversight or accountability. As a consequence of the missions in [[Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron Sokovia]] and Nigeria going pear-shaped and causing massive civilian casualties, the world's governments enact the [[SuperRegistrationAct Sokovia Accords]] in an attempt to [[DefiedTrope bring the Avengers back under civilian control]]. Reaction from the Avengers themselves is mixed: the increasingly traumatized Tony "Film/{{Iron Man|Films}}" Stark is in favor, while Steve "Captain America" Rogers worries that the Avengers will be subordinated to political objectives over the broader goal of protecting the planet, and chooses to quit. It gets worse when the Accords signatories appoint [[GeneralRipper Thaddeus Ross]] ([[Film/TheIncredibleHulk2008 infamous for hunting the Hulk]]) in charge of enforcing the Accords on the superheroes: his pursuit of Bucky "Winter Soldier" Barnes pushes Tony and Steve into open conflict.

* The Impossible Mission Force in the ''Film/MissionImpossibleFilmSeries'' is a US agency that appears to answer only to a mysterious "Secretary". ''Film/MissionImpossibleRogueNation'' even shows IMF officer William Brandt stonewalling a Congressional subcommittee on the grounds that there currently is ''no'' Secretary who can permit him to discuss the group's missions--which apparently continue despite the present lack of a boss. Nope, not even the elected representatives of the people of the United States get to perform oversight of IMF if it doesn't want them to. [[spoiler:Alan Hunley is given the job of Secretary at the end of the film.]]
* ''Franchise/StarWars'':
** In most ''Star Wars'' media, including ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'', the Jedi Order is portrayed as an NGOSuperpower of sorts: an independent paramilitary organization that is allied to the Republic, enforcing its laws and keeping the peace, but only really answers to its own Jedi Council. And according to ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'', the Council really doesn't like it when the civilian government of the Republic tries to insert itself in what it sees as purely Jedi affairs. During the Clone Wars, the Military Creation Act changes this status by legally appointing Jedi assigned to the war effort as senior officers of the Grand Army of the Republic.
** In the original trilogy, Darth Vader derives his authority in the Empire not from his official rank[[note]]Anakin was a General during the Clone Wars, but the films are vague what his "official" rank was during the Empire, which may in itself be an example of this trope. AllThereInTheManual often renders him a Grand Moff or Supreme Commander of the Imperial Military.[[/note]], but from his Master-Apprentice relationship with the Emperor. By default, this puts the Sith order above any Imperial body. He appears to defer to Grand Moff Tarkin out of respect in ''Film/ANewHope'', but it's doubtful that Tarkin could really do anything about it if Vader decided to ignore him or even challenge his command.

* ''Nick Carter: Killmaster'' are stories about Nick Carter, an elite agent for the American secret government organization, AXE. Nick is what happens if ''Literature/JamesBond'' had a FusionDance with ''[[Literature/TheExecutioner Mack Bolan]]'', so he really lives up to being the "killaster".
* ''Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse'': The Inquistorius, a division of [[StateSec Imperial Intelligence]] composed of [[MagicKnight Force-sensitive operatives]]. Their mission is to [[MutantDraftBoard recruit or kill]] any latent Force-sensitives they can find, they answer only to [[TheDragon Darth Vader]] himself, and they are allowed to requisition any Imperial resources they deem necessary for their task.
* ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'':
** Recurring character Mara Jade is a Force-sensitive who was trained by Emperor Palpatine to be an "Emperor's Hand", a spy and assassin answering directly to him. ''Literature/TheThrawnTrilogy'' and later-written {{prequel}}s such as ''[[Literature/StarWarsAllegiance Allegiance]]'' give some indications as to the scope of her duties: in ''Dark Force Rising'' she tries (and fails) to ForceChoke Grand Admiral Thrawn after he betrays her, and implies that she was permitted to kill even Imperial military personnel more or less at will if she could adequately defend it to the Emperor. Palpatine's death left her unemployed; she found work as a smuggler and gun for hire, and Luke Skywalker begins training her as a Jedi in ''The Last Command''.
** {{Discussed}} in the ''Literature/NewJediOrder'' novel ''Destiny's Way''. Luke, by now the official Grandmaster of the Jedi Order, has a less-than-cordial encounter with a New Republic politician named Fyor Rodan, who wants to remove this trope from the Jedi. He seeks to make the Jedi Order a formal branch of the New Republic Defense Force, which among other things would make it possible to CourtMartial Jedi Knights who fall to the dark side or otherwise go rogue. Luke prefers to keep the Order independent, feeling, as the Old Republic's Jedi did, that their purpose is to serve the Force rather than the political and military needs of the Republic. The status quo is a bit messy since many Jedi Knights also hold NRDF commissions.

** The Psi Corps theoretically works for the government of the Earth Alliance, with the job of putting telepaths to work while protecting the privacy rights of [[{{Muggles}} "mundanes"]]. In practice, the Psi Corps has become a rogue agency answering only to itself, experimenting on mundanes and telepaths alike and giving the Psi Corps the effective authority to kill anyone at will with little consequence. [[spoiler:By ''Series/{{Crusade}}'', the Psi Corps is overthrown by LaResistance and telepaths are brought into the Earth Alliance's normal legal structure.]]
** ''B5'' was supposed to have another example of the NoSuchAgency variety, Bureau 13, which Captain Sheridan mentions as [[ConspiracyTheorist a conspiracy theory within EarthForce]] in "[[Recap/BabylonFiveS02E06SpiderInTheWeb Spider in the Web]]". Supposedly they were used for deniable "dirty tricks" operations by Earthgov: in the episode proper they're implicated in a murder connected to the Martian separatist movement. After the episode was shot, however, somebody realized the name was taken by [[TabletopGame/Bureau13StalkingTheNightFantastic an unrelated tabletop RPG]], and Creator/JMichaelStraczynski quietly [[AbortedArc aborted the arc]] to avoid potential legal trouble. [[spoiler:The only known operative was shown to be wearing a [=PsiCop=] uniform anyway.]]
* ''Series/BurnNotice'': In "[[Recap/BurnNoticeS2E16LesserEvil Lesser Evil]]", Victor theorizes this is how the [[NebulousEvilOrganization burned spies organization]] got started: "Somebody runs an operation off the books. It's supposed to be a one-time thing but when it's over, there's power to be had. Takes on a life of its own."

** On the side of the villains, the Cult of Skaro fulfills the idea of the trope. Above and beyond the laws and codes and conditioning of the Dalek Empire, the Cult's mission was to innovate new ways for the Dalek race to survive, even if it meant [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E5EvolutionOfTheDaleks transcending what it means to ''be'' a Dalek]]...[[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E13JourneysEnd or even to question whether or not the Dalek race is a dead end]].

* ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse'':
** ''Series/AgentsOfShield'' deals with this quite a bit, with S.H.I.E.L.D. agents thinking nothing of breaking national law, or even ''international'' law by traipsing into other countries like South America, Canada, and Russia to perform their missions. This ends up biting them in the ass ''hard'' when the government decides to crack down on them, when it's revealed they've made nemeses in some of these countries who are now coming back looking for trouble, and when [[Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier it turns out they're been thoroughly infiltrated and corrupted by HYDRA]]...
** ''Series/TheFalconAndTheWinterSoldier'' touches on some of the question marks about [[Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse the Avengers]]. Sam "Falcon" Wilson explains in the pilot that the Avengers are funded mostly by private donations (previous material indicates a lot of it comes from Stark Industries). He also argues with the new Captain America, BadassNormal Army officer John Walker, about who should be taking lead on the [[WesternTerrorists Flag Smashers]], given that he and his partner work for the US government rather than the Avengers organization: Sam argues that the fact he and Bucky don't need to wait for authorization means they're more effective on their own.
* The original ''Series/MissionImpossible'' (1966-1973) is probably the TropeCodifier for the secret agency format. The Impossible Mission Force's command structure is only vaguely defined due to the episodic nature of the series: all that we're ever told, OnceAnEpisode, is that they answer to a mysterious Secretary, who will famously disavow all knowledge of the protagonists' actions if any are exposed.

* ''Series/TheProfessionals''. In "Old Dog With New Tricks", [[DaChief George Cowley]] states the charter under which [=CI5=] operates. "''To detect, deter and prevent, and or take suitable action and or actions against those transgressors against the law outside the norm of criminal activity. To contain and render ineffective such by whatever means necessary.''--That's our official brief. ''By any means necessary''--that's our [[LoopholeAbuse loophole]]." However Cowley has to take account of political realities; when a suspect dies in [=CI5=] custody in "The Rack", [=CI5=] has to submit to a court of inquiry due to the adverse publicity. Cowley also makes sure to cover himself with the bureaucracy, indicating he prefers to work with the system rather than buck it. In the short-lived ''[=CI5=]: The New Professionals'', his successor Harry Malone is shown to have a tougher time of it, because in TheNineties [=CI5=] operate internationally and have to get the cooperation of foreign governments.
* {{Defied|Trope}} in the ''Franchise/StargateVerse''. Despite the {{Secret War}}fare nature of the stargate program and General Hammond having the President of the United States on speed dial, Stargate Command and related agencies such as NID are still very much subject to the normal US and eventually UN legal structures. There's repeated tangles with Congress over the budget (recurring antagonist Senator Kinsey originally gets read in because he was chairman of the Appropriations Committee at the time), and a couple of times, operators who went rogue end up with federal death sentences for offenses they legally aren't allowed to discuss because they happened on other planets.

** Section 31 is a super-secret Federation intelligence agency that isn't accountable to ''anyone at all''. It's named after Article 14, Section 31 of the United Earth Starfleet Charter (the Federation Starfleet inherited it), which voids other restrictions placed by the charter in times of "extraordinary threat"--and as an operative wryly remarks in ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'', "Earth's got a lot of enemies." Section 31 also demonstrates some of the pitfalls of having such an agency: the lack of oversight leads to Section 31 going to increasing extremes to "safeguard the Federation" in ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', including using biological weapons to try to exterminate the Dominion's Founders and framing a (Federation-friendly) Romulan senator for treason in order to put one of their [[TheMole moles]] into a higher position. They're even said to have an operative in the Federation President's Cabinet--in a series where there has already been [[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS04E12ParadiseLost one attempted coup]] by a WellIntentionedExtremist Starfleet officer.
** Both the Romulan Tal Shiar and the Cardassian Obsidian Order may have started out as intelligence arms for their respective governments, but by the 24th century both had become so powerful that they could effectively run their governments simply by "disappearing" anyone who disagreed with them or framing them as disloyal to the state. The Dominion ''specifically'' targeted both organizations for annihilation prior to the Dominion War precisely because they considered both of them to be the greatest threat to the Dominion's takeover of the Alpha Quadrant. And then in ''Series/StarTrekPicard'' we learn that there's an even deeper and more powerful cabal within the Tal Shiar called the ''Zhat Vash'' that scares even hardened Romulan operatives.

* ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}}'': the Legal Enforcement Powers advantage at 15 points gives the character the ability to have widespread jurisdiction, violate the civil rights of others, freedom to start cover operations, and kill with relative impunity. It almost always comes with a Duty disadvantage requiring the character do something for the sponsor.

** On the positive side, there's the Rogue's Guild of Limsa Lominsa, a secret police of former pirates endorsed covertly by the Admiral who work to uphold the Code -- an unwritten set of rules governing "legitimate" crime in Limsa and La Noscea, including the remnants of piracy. They don't protect criminals from the actual law enforcement overtly if they get caught, but do help facilitate any business that falls under the Code - as well as police those who break it.
* ''Franchise/MassEffect'': Council Spectres are operatives with a vague mandate to "Preserve and protect peace and stability in the galaxy", who are only answerable to the [[FictionalUnitedNations Citadel Council]]. Unlike other examples of this trope, they are [[WithThisHerring not provided with any particular resources]] by their employers, but since they can do anything they like without legal repercussion, they're free to cut deals, steal, and even raise private armies to accomplish their missions. The ethics of this are {{discussed}} in ''VideoGame/MassEffect1 1'', when the Head of Citadel Security criticizes the Spectres' lack of accountability, and the main plot of the game involves [[TheProtagonist Commander]] [[TheHero Shepard]] hunting down a rogue Spectre named Saren Arterius, who is plotting to help initiate the [[MechanicalAbomination Reaper]] Invasion and bring about the destruction of all Galactic civilization.
* ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'': The Sith Warrior class story sees the PC named the "Emperor's Wrath", a title making them the personal enforcer and executioner of Sith Emperor Vitiate (at least in theory: nobody has in fact seen Vitiate for years, [[spoiler:because he's preparing to conquer the galaxy at the head of the Eternal Empire]]). This makes them autonomous from the Dark Council, which normally ''de facto'' rules the Sith Empire and especially the Sith religious order on a day-to-day basis. [[spoiler:When the Sith Emperor returns, their title is renamed the ''Empire's'' Wrath; they now work for Empress Acina, a former Dark Council member.]]

[[folder:Web Original]]

** The Foundation is a [[TheMenInBlack shadowy]] [[NGOSuperpower non-governmental organization]] which works outside of all national or international laws and in ''absolute'' secrecy, only answering to their own central leadership (the O5 Council and the Ethics Committee). They follow the bare minimum of ethical standards, just enough to keep morale afloat and (theoretically) prevent themselves from [[HeWhoFightsMonsters becoming total monsters]]. So why do they still receive funding from every nation on Earth? Because only the Foundation has all the power, resources, and knowledge necessary to keep global human civilization from being destroyed or drastically altered by all sorts of extremely harmful supernatural threats.

* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_Guard You have the various Republican]] and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidential_Guard Presidential]] Guard units. Usually military or paramilitary in nature, their job is to protect top officials, including the heads of state and his/her immediate family and sensitive installations. They are usually answerable to the head of state for security/reliability reasons.

** Rogue Traders are a variant in that the authority they are granted comes almost entirely ''from'' them being placed above many of the normal laws of the Imperium. Charged with exploring beyond the Imperium's frontiers and expanding the Imperium's influence, they are allowed to get away with many things that would be illegal and/or heresy for normal Imperials (for example, trafficking with aliens or even hiring them as mercenaries in your retinue). Exactly where they fall depends on what document grants them this freedom; on one end is Letters of Marque who are restricted in various ways (for example, you may only be able to act as a Rogue Trader in a specific sector) while on the other end is Warrants of Trade issued by the God-Emperor himself in the days of the Great Crusade (Warrants are hereditary), which in terms of legal theory makes you more-or-less a peer of Space Marine chapter masters and Inquisitors.

* ''Series/AgentsOfShield'' deals with this quite a bit, with S.H.I.E.L.D. agents thinking nothing of breaking national law, or even ''international'' law by traipsing into other countries like South America, Canada, and Russia to perform their missions. This ends up biting them in the ass ''hard'' when the government decides to crack down on them, when it's revealed they've made nemeses in some of these countries who are now coming back looking for trouble, and when [[Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier it turns out they're been thoroughly infiltrated and corrupted by HYDRA]]...

* ''Series/TheFalconAndTheWinterSoldier'' touches on some of the question marks about [[Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse the Avengers]]. Sam "Falcon" Wilson explains in the pilot that the Avengers are funded mostly by private donations (previous material indicates a lot of it comes from Stark Industries). He also argues with the new Captain America, BadassNormal Army officer John Walker, about who should be taking lead on the [[WesternTerrorists Flag Smashers]], given that he and his partner work for the US government rather than the Avengers organization: Sam argues that the fact he and Bucky don't need to wait for authorization means they're more effective on their own.

* ''Franchise/MassEffect'': Council Spectres are operatives with a vague mandate to "preserve and protect peace and stability in the galaxy", who are only answerable to the [[FictionalUnitedNations Citadel Council]]. Unlike other examples of this trope, they are [[WithThisHerring not provided with any particular resources]] by their employers, but since they can do anything they like without legal repercussion, they're free to cut deals, steal, and even raise private armies to accomplish their missions. The ethics of this are {{discussed}} in ''VideoGame/MassEffect1'' when the Head of Citadel Security criticizes the Spectres' lack of accountability, and the main plot of the game involves Commander Shepard hunting down a rogue Spectre named Saren Arterius, who is plotting to the help initiate the [[MechanicalAbomination Reaper]] Invasion and bring about the destruction of all civilization.

-->-- [[Recap/StarTrekEnterpriseS04E16Divergence "Divergence"]], ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise''

Compare / Contrast ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem (when enforcers only think they are above the law). Often an example of ArtisticLicenseLawEnforcement and/or ArtisticLicensePolitics if applied to agents ostensibly of a RealLife government (particularly modern liberal democracies), as the state's actual laws and structure may not permit such an agency to exist, at least on paper. May overlap with:

* In the ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'' fanfiction ''Fanfic/TheProgenitorChronicles'', President Kaldwin inherits the Division of Security Operations (DSO) and makes it her top-secret anti-Family task force, answering to her directly. Given the reveal in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil6'' that the Family had members throughout the entire world, including within major governments, having this sort of team outside the regular legal system is, at the least, prudent.

* ''Literature/HiveMind'':
** As one of only five true Telepaths, Amber is [[MutantDraftBoard desperately needed]] to police a Hive city of a hundred million people. As such, she's showered in luxuries, given anything she wants no matter how troublesome, and is explicitly above the law. [[spoiler:She takes advantage of this at the end of ''Telepath'' when she [[MercyKill Mercy Kills]] Elden to save him from [[FateWorseThanDeath destruction analysis]]. In a later book, she muses that no one so much as took away her chocolate crunch cakes.]]

* This is OlderThanRadio: ''Literature/TheThreeMusketeers'' by Creator/AlexandreDumas provides a dual UrExample. King UsefulNotes/LouisXIII of France has the Musketeers among others as official guardians of France and her interests. However, Louis's laissez-faire attitude to rulership in the novel means France effectively has two heads of state, the second being Cardinal Richelieu, the head of the French Catholic Church. Richelieu also maintains a cadre of agents, most of which are covert, that answer only to him. Understandably, the King's Musketeers and the Cardinal's Guards have an intense InterserviceRivalry and routinely cross swords. Meanwhile, FemmeFatale Lady [=DeWinter=] is charged with disposing of the Duke of Buckingham, and she carries a writ that makes her untouchable by French authorities: "What the bearer of this deed has done, is by my command, and for the good of France. Richelieu" As Aramis comments upon reading it, "It is an absolution in all its forms."

* ''Series/AgentX'' was a short-lived TV series following a special agent that follows pretty much all of the traits of this trope, except he is answerable only to the ''Vice President'' (in order to give the President plausible deniability), as designated by [[ArtisticLicensePolitics a secret section of the Constitution]].

** [=PsiCorps=] theoretically works for the government of the Earth Alliance, with the job of putting telepaths to work while protecting the privacy rights of [[{{Muggles}} "mundanes"]]. In practice, [=PsiCorps=] has become a rogue agency answering only to itself, experimenting on mundanes and telepaths alike and giving [=PsiCops=] the effective authority to kill anyone at will with little consequence. [[spoiler:By ''Series/{{Crusade}}'', [=PsiCorps=] is overthrown by LaResistance and telepaths are brought into the Earth Alliance's normal legal structure.]]

* ''Series/DoctorWho''

* {{Defied}} in the ''Franchise/StargateVerse''. Despite the {{Secret War}}fare nature of the stargate program and General Hammond having the President of the United States on speed dial, Stargate Command and related agencies such as NID are still very much subject to the normal US and eventually UN legal structures. There's repeated tangles with Congress over the budget (recurring antagonist Senator Kinsey originally gets read in because he was chairman of the Appropriations Committee at the time), and a couple of times, operators who went rogue end up with federal death sentences for offenses they legally aren't allowed to discuss because they happened on other planets.

* ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'': The Zero Squadron (a.k.a. Wings of Justice) is an "unofficial" part of the NOL's army which answers only to the Imperator. Their job is to watch the other members of the army and find anyone who might rebel and bring them to justice.

** The Crystal Braves were intended to be this as well - a group that wasn't beholden to one of the three allied nations, that could take more direct action in rooting out Garlean spies. However, they end up [[spoiler:betraying the Scions and the other nations, along with corrupt elements within Ul'Dah.]] Ironically, their efforts to fully realize this trope limit their actual influence, as Limsa Lominsa and Gridania's respective leaders [[spoiler:don't trust that the hero of the realm and their allies would truly become the danger they're presented as and work to remove the Braves and their allies from positions of power and trust, while also convincing them that they can't overtly go after the PC until they provide proof that they were actually responsible - allowing you to walk around the three nations as if nothing is going on.]]
** The Heaven's Ward probably plays this straight more than any other group. The order is nominally part of the Temple Knights, but have extreme latitude in their actions. They report directly to the Archbishop, and as such though their actions are not utterly unquestionable, it takes a VERY rare breed to even consider challenging them. The only time their leader reins them in occurs early in the story, when one of their members has two allies of the PC arrested - and this is after the PC has trounced him in a duel and proven worthy to the Archbishop of being a [[spoiler:pawn in his schemes.]]
** On the positive side, there's the Rogue's Guild of Limsa Lominsa, a secret police of former pirates endorsed covertly by the Admiral who work to uphold the Code - an unwritten set of rules governing "legitimate" crime in Limsa and La Noscea, including the remnants of piracy. They don't protect criminals from the actual law enforcement overtly if they get caught, but do help facilitate any business that falls under the Code - as well as police those who break it.

* Website/SCPFoundation:

* ''Nick Carter: Killmaster'' are stories about Nick Carter, an elite agent for the American secret government organization, AXE. Nick is what happens if ''Literature/JamesBond'' had a FusionDance with ''[[Literature/TheExecutioner MackBolan]]'', so he really lives up to being the "killaster".

* ''Nick Carter: Killmaster'' are stories about Nick Carter, an elite agent for the American secret government organization, AXE. Nick is what happens if ''Literature/JamesBond'' had a FusionDance with ''Literature/MackBolan'', so he really lives up to being the "killaster".

** ''Literature/TheTeethOfTheTiger'', ''Literature/DeadOrAlive'', ''Literature/LockedOn'', and ''Literature/ThreatVector'' revolve around a private counterterrorism [[ProfessionalKillers hit squad]] called the Campus, secretly established by former President Jack Ryan. Ryan supplied the group with [[ArtisticLicenseLaw a stack of pre-signed presidential pardons]] to shield its operatives from prosecution. (Which is legally and [[ArtisticLicensePolitics politically]] nonsense: blanket pardons aren't allowed in US common law, and the President cannot pardon crimes prosecuted by foreign governments -- several assassinations the Campus performs in the first book take place in London -- or even US states. To say nothing of the StrawmanPolitical stuff also involved.)

** In the original trilogy, Darth Vader derives his authority in the Empire not from his official rank, but from his Master-Apprentice relationship with the Emperor. By default, this puts the Sith order above any Imperial body. He appears to defer to Grand Moff Tarkin out of respect in ''Film/ANewHope'', but it's doubtful that Tarkin could really do anything about it if Vader decided to ignore him or even challenge his command.