This chapter canvasses political mechanisms of control through the operation of scrutiny bodies in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. These include parliamentary or congressional committees, auditors-general, information commissioners, and ombudsmen to monitor the performance of the executive, as well as the institution of public inquiries for large-scale scandals. These political mechanisms of control have become major avenues of accountability through ex ante mechanisms of standard-setting by oversight bodies, and ex post mechanisms of investigations by these scrutiny bodies that expose scandals and controversies, and audits by auditors-general.