HOLLOWAY, Chief Judge.
After a twenty month investigation conducted before two grand juries, this case began with the return of a twenty-seven count indictment charging all defendants-appellants with conspiracy, and charging several of the defendants additionally with mail fraud and/or tax fraud.1 Defendant [1460]*1460Kilpatrick was charged in Count XXVII with obstruction of justice.
Initially the district court dismissed the first twenty-six counts of the indictment as improperly pleaded and for failure to charge a crime by failing to allege a lack of economic substance in the underlying transactions. United States v. Kilpatrick, 594 F.Supp. 1324, 1327 (D.Colo.1984). Following a separate motion by the Bank of Nova Scotia (Bank), the district court dismissed the counts in which the Bank was named for failure to allege the requisite knowledge and intent by the Bank to commit the crimes charged. Id. The Government appealed all these dismissals in Nos. 83- 1363 through 83-1369.
Before argument here, as requested we partially remanded the case to the district court to determine whether misconduct on the part of Government attorneys in connection with the grand jury investigation and presentation constituted additional grounds for dismissal. Following the partial remand, Judge Winner issued an opinion which, among other things, summarized the status of the cases which were reassigned to Judge Kane, granted a new trial on the obstruction of justice count against Kilpatrick, and ordered disclosure of the grand jury transcript. See United States v. Kilpatrick, 575 F.Supp. 325 (D.Colo. 1983).
After ten days of hearings Judge Kane dismissed all twenty-seven counts of the indictment because of prosecutorial misconduct 2. The Government also appealed these dismissals in Nos. 84-2481 through 84- 2487. With the latter appeals we consolidated Nos. 83-1363 through 83-1369, discussed above. In this opinion we dispose of the issues raised in appeals Nos. 83-1363 through 83-1369 and Nos. 84-2481 through 84-2487. Our separate opinion to follow will address the issues raised in No. 83-2284, the Government’s appeal from the order for a new trial for Kilpatrick challenging adverse publicity concerning Government counsel, and No. 84-1231, a mandamus proceeding also complaining of adverse publicity concerning Government counsel.
We conclude that we must reverse the dismissals by the district court and order reinstatement of all counts of the indictment.
I
Sufficiency of the indictment
A
The Government appeals the order dismissing the first twenty-six counts of the twenty-seven count indictment, Nos. 83-1363 through 83-1369. (I R. 274). The indictment was based on two alleged fraudulent investment enterprises sold to investor-taxpayers in the United States. The district court dismissed the first twenty-six counts because of their failure to allege the lack of economic substance in the transactions underlying the tax shelter program, and because of the court’s concern that the defendants would not be able to plead a conviction or acquittal as a bar to subsequent prosecution. (IV R. 3-4). Furthermore, the ten counts naming the Bank were dismissed as to the Bank on the additional ground that the indictment failed to allege that the Bank or its representatives had the requisite knowledge or intent to commit the crimes charged. (IV R. 7-11).
Count I, which related to the structured coal programs in the United States, charged five of the individual defendants and the Bank with “unlawfully, willfully, and knowingly consphjmg] ... to defraud the United States of America by impeding, impairing, obstructing and defeating the lawful functions of the Internal Revenue Service of the Treasury Department in the ascertainment, computation, assessment and collection of the revenue through false and fictitious claims of deductions for advance royalty ‘payments’ ...” in violation [1461]*1461of 18 U.S.C. § 371. (I R. 1-2). The crux of the conspiracy charged in Count I was the creation in mineral leases of false tax deductions for nonexistant advance royalty payments for investor-taxpayers. The charging paragraph of Count I is followed by an extensive listing of “Means And Methods” and sixty-four overt acts.
Count II, which concerned the funding of the research and development of methanol conversion processes, charged five of the individual defendants with a conspiracy similar to the conspiracy alleged in Count I in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371. The crux of the conspiracy charged in Count II was the creation of false tax deductions on nonexistant research and development payments resulting from investments in limited partnerships formed to fund research and development of methanol conversion processes.
Counts III through X charged various defendants under 26 U.S.C. § 7206(2) with aiding and assisting in the preparation and presentation of false partnership and individual tax returns because of representations made to various taxpayers that the taxpayers were entitled to claim deductions for royalty payments (Counts III through VI), or research and development payments (Counts VII through X), when no such deductions were allegedly permissible. Counts XI and XII charged defendants Kilpatrick and O’Donnell with willfully making and subscribing false individual tax returns in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7206(1). Counts XIII through XXVI charged various defendants with substantive mail fraud violations under 18 U.S.C. § 1341, based on their alleged defrauding of investors in connection with the programs alleged in Counts I and II.
After extensive briefing and hearings, the district court dismissed Counts I and II. First, the court dismissed the two counts for failure to allege lack of economic substance of the underlying enterprises. Such justification must necessarily rest on the view that such lack of economic substance is an essential element of a § 371 crime in these circumstances. Second, the court dismissed the two counts because of its concern that the defendants would not be able to plead a bar to any subsequent prosecution. The parties stipulated that the programs which formed the basis of Counts I and II also served as the foundation of the fraud alleged in Counts III through XXVI. (I R. 274-75). The court thus dismissed those counts. (Id.) Moreover, the court dismissed as to the Bank, finding that knowledge and intent on the Bank’s part was not sufficiently alleged.
B
An indictment is sufficient if it (1) contains the essential elements of the offense intended to be charged, (2) sufficiently apprises the accused of what he must be prepared to defend against, and (3) enables the accused to plead a judgment under the indictment as a bar to any subsequent prosecution for the same offense. Russell v. United States, 369 U.S. 749, 763-64, 82 S.Ct. 1038, 1046-47, 8 L.Ed.2d 240 (1962); see also United States v. Salazar, 720 F.2d 1482, 1486 (10th Cir.1983), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 1110, 105 S.Ct, 789, 83 L.Ed.2d 783 (1985).
The test is not whether the indictment could have been made more definite and certain. Rather, before a conviction, the indictment standing alone must contain the elements of the offense intended to be charged and must be sufficient to apprise the accused of the nature of the offense so that he may adequately prepare a defense. And, after a conviction, the entire record of the case must be sufficient so as to enable the accused to subsequently avail himself of the plea of former jeopardy if the need to do so should ever arise.
Clay v. United States, 326 F.2d 196, 198 (10th Cir.1963), cert. denied, 377 U.S. 1000, 84 S.Ct. 1930, 12 L.Ed.2d 1050 (1964) (footnote omitted); see also 1 C. Wright, Federal Practice and Procedure § 125, at 364-65 (2d ed. 1982).
We hold that the indictment is sufficiently precise to meet the requirements of the Constitution and Rule 7(c) of the Federal [1462]*1462Rules of Criminal Procedure.3 We agree with the district court that the basis of Counts I and II also served as the foundation of the fraud alleged in Counts III through XXVI. Consideration of the first two counts alone was urged in the briefs submitted. Therefore, we direct our attention primarily to Counts I and II. Accord United States v. Arge, 418 F.2d 721, 723 (10th Cir.1969).
C
Essential elements of the offense charged
The court should dismiss an indictment if it does not “contain[] the elements of the offense intended to be charged.” Russell, 369 U.S. at 763, 82 S.Ct. at 1047. All the defendants contend, and the district court agreed, that the failure to allege the lack of economic substance of the underlying programs rendered the indictment fatally defective. We disagree.
Count I charges all the individual defendants and the Bank with defrauding the United States of America “through false and ficticious claims of deductions for advance royalty ‘payments’____” (I R. 2). We believe the allegation in Count I of “false and ficticious claims of deductions” is sufficient when read in light of the entire Count. It is true that indictments under the broad language of the general conspiracy statute “must be scrutinized carefully as to each of the charged defendants because of the possibility, inherent in a criminal conspiracy charge, that its wide net may ensnare the innocent as well as the culpable.” Dennis v. United States, 384 U.S. 855, 860, 86 S.Ct. 1840, 1843, 16 L.Ed.2d 973 (1966) (citations omitted). However the indictment should be read as a whole and interpreted in a common-sense manner. See United States v. Hajecate, 683 F.2d 894, 898 (5th Cir.1982), cert. denied, 461 U.S. 927, 103 S.Ct. 2086, 77 L.Ed.2d 298 (1983); see also 8 J. Moore, Moore’s Federal Practice H 7.04, at 7-20 (2d ed. 1985). Count I charges that five of the individual defendants and the Bank conspired to defraud the United States (unlawful objective) by false and ficticious claims of deductions (the means). Accord Schino v. United States, 209 F.2d 67, 69 (9th Cir. 1953), cert. denied, 347 U.S. 937, 74 S.Ct. 627, 98 L.Ed. 1087 (1954).
The indictment or the information shall be a plain, concise and definite written statement of the essential facts constituting the offense charged.
Count II charges five of the individual defendants with the same conspiracy but as to research and development payments. It states the gist of the offense of conspiracy and adequately lays out the grand jury’s charges and the general factual circumstances underlying them. The fact that the defendants contest the substance of the offense charged does not render the indictment insufficient. See United States v. Crooks, 804 F.2d 1441, 1450 (9th Cir. 1986). We do not feel that a lack of economic substance allegation is required in an indictment already alleging that the defendants conspired to defraud the United States through false and ficticious claims of deductions for research and development payments.4
[1463]*1463The Bank further contends that Count I fails to allege the requisite knowledge and intent on its part, which it says is necessary to state an offense under 18 U.S.C. § 371. It points to “key charging” paragraphs which list various individual defendants, but which do not name the Bank.
It is axiomatic that “all the material facts and circumstances embraced in the definition of the offence must be stated, or the indictment will be defective.” United States v. Hess, 124 U.S. 483, 486, 8 S.Ct. 571, 573, 31 L.Ed. 516 (1888). Moreover, a court cannot by implication add an essential element to the indictment. “[A defendant] cannot be convicted on the basis of facts not found by, and perhaps not even presented to, the grand jury.” United States v. Keith, 605 F.2d 462, 464 (9th Cir.1979) (citations omitted). Courts, however, do not insist that any particular word or phrase be used in stating an essential element. See United States v. Garcia-Geronimo, 663 F.2d 738, 742 (7th Cir.1981).
The requisite mental element for a § 371 offense must be alleged in the indictment. See United States v. Stevens, 612 F.2d 1226, 1230 (10th Cir.1979), cert. denied, 447 U.S. 921, 100 S.Ct. 3011, 65 L.Ed.2d 1113 (1980). The charging paragraph in Count I uses the phrase “unlawfully, willfully, and knowingly conspire ... to defraud the United States of America ... in the ascertainment, computation, assessment and collection of the revenue____” (I R. 1-2). Moreover, the allegations in Count I go further to charge the requisite knowledge and intent. Under the “Means and Method” portion of Count I the indictment alleges that the Bank, along with other named defendants, “devised and/or participated in a scheme to make it appear that the required payments had, in fact, been made____” (Id. at 6). It is further charged that the Bank “agreed to further conceal the fact that the purported payments by P & J Coal Company could not be made and that the basis of the 1978 funding was nothing more than a ‘check kite’ and/or ‘check swap'____” {Id. at 7). It is further charged that the Bank “knew that this type of ‘check kite’ was ficticious, and was conducted to create cheeks to make it appear that P & J Coal Company had made its required loans.” {Id. at 8). It is also alleged that the Bank “knew that P & J Coal Company had not in actuality made its payments as required and that the transaction was a fiction designed to create the illusion that P & J Coal Company had made payments to investors____” {Id. at 9). Furthermore, it is stated that the Bank conspired with the named defendants to have “the records of and pertaining to Marlborough Investments, Ltd., as well as other entities, ... moved, altered, and/or destroyed.” {Id.).
Both the initial charging paragraph and the several “Means And Methods” paragraphs aver the requisite knowledge or intent on the part of the Bank. Whether the exact term used is “knowledge” or “devised” or “agreed to conceal” is not relevant; “[t]here is no magic to the words used ... to allege guilty knowledge.” Davis v. United States, 347 F.2d 378, 379 (10th Cir.1965) (per curiam). Moreover, “[w]hen the same mental element is required for each act ... an initial recital of the element is sufficient.” Stevens, 612 F.2d at 1230. Count I depicts the Bank as an active participant in a conspiracy to defraud the IRS in its assessment and collection of income taxes. The essence of Count I is the alleged concerted conduct on the part of all the defendants. Thus Count I adequately charges a conspiracy to defraud the United States, and with the required specificity alleges the culpable role of each of the defendants. Dennis, 384 U.S. at 860, 86 S.Ct. at 1843; see also United States v. Turkish, 623 F.2d 769, 771 (2nd Cir.1980), cert. denied, 449 U.S. 1077, 101 S.Ct. 856, 66 L.Ed.2d 800 (1981). And we conclude that the indictment suffi[1464]*1464ciently charged the requisite mental element on the part of the Bank.5
D
Notice of the charges
We must decide next whether the indictment was adequate to inform the defendants of the charges.
Allegations of the means and methods as well as the overt acts may be considered in judging the sufficiency of the conspiracy counts. See United States v. Watson, 594 F.2d 1330, 1341 (10th Cir.), cert. denied, 444 U.S. 840, 100 S.Ct. 78, 62 L.Ed.2d 51 (1979). Counts I and II set out the transactions purporting to be the gravamen of the conspiracy charges with specificity. Relevant names, dates, companies involved, and amounts of money are averred in detail. An extensive listing of “Means and Methods” and “Overt Acts” is made. Thus the indictment is replete with the particulars of the acts on which the two counts are predicated. It adequately charges the individual defendants and the Bank with definiteness, certainty, and with reasonable particularity as to time and place, naming persons or entities involved in the conspiracies. See, e.g., Wong Tai v. United States, 273 U.S. 77, 81, 47 S.Ct. 300, 301, 71 L.Ed. 545 (1927).
E
Preclusion of double jeopardy
Finally we must consider whether the indictment is sufficient to adequately protect the defendants against double jeopardy.
In addressing this question we note that the defendants are permitted to use the entire record and the judgment, not merely the indictment, in asserting double jeopardy. See Arge, 418 F.2d at 725; Clay, 326 F.2d at 199; see also 1 C. Wright, supra at § 125, p. 365. We are not persuaded that the indictment fails to adequately protect the defendants. It lays out the necessary facts with specificity as to the relevant times, places, persons, and entities and the charges made against each defendant. Along with the entire record in this case, the indictment will provide adequate safeguards against double jeopardy.
II
Prosecutorial misconduct
The Fifth Amendment provides that “[n]o person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury____” The grand jury is a “grand inquest, a body with powers of investigation and inquisition, the scope of whose inquiries is not to be limited narrowly by questions of propriety____” Blair v. United States, 250 U.S. 273, 282, 39 S.Ct. 468, 471, 63 L.Ed. 979 (1919). The function of the grand jury “was not only to examine into the commission of crimes, but to stand between the prosecutor and the accused, and to determine whether the charge was founded upon credible testimony or was dictated by malice or personal ill will.” Hale v. Henkel, 201 U.S. 43, 59, 26 S.Ct. 370, 373, 50 L.Ed. 652 (1906). A grand jury proceeding is not adversarial but ex parte. See United States v. Calandra, 414 U.S. 338, 343-44, 94 S.Ct. 613, 617-18, 38 L.Ed.2d 561 (1974). We are mindful of the oft-quoted words of Judge Learned Hand [1465]*1465that “[s]ave for torture, it would be hard to find a more effective tool of tyranny than the power of unlimited and unchecked ex parte examination.” United States v. Remington, 208 F.2d 567, 573 (2d Cir.1953) (L. Hand, J., dissenting), cert. denied, 347 U.S. 913, 74 S.Ct. 476, 98 L.Ed. 1069 (1954).
The separation of powers doctrine mandates judicial respect for the independence of both the prosecutor and the grand jury. See United States v. De Rosa, 783 F.2d 1401, 1404 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 106 S.Ct. 3282, 91 L.Ed.2d 571 (1986); United States v. McClintock, 748 F.2d 1278, 1283 (9th Cir.1984), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 106 S.Ct. 75, 88 L.Ed.2d 61 (1985). Dismissals of indictments for prosecutorial misconduct are rarely upheld. United States v. Anderson, 778 F.2d 602, 606 (10th Cir.1985); United States v. Pino, 708 F.2d 523, 530 (10th Cir.1983); see also United States v. Buchanan, 787 F.2d 477, 487 (10th Cir.1986). Dismissal of an indictment for prosecutorial misconduct rests upon two distinct though closely related theories. A court may dismiss on the bases of the Fifth Amendment Due Process or Grand Jury Clauses.6 The constitutional concerns focus on the fairness to the defendant and on remedying any harm to his basic rights. See McClintock, 748 F.2d at 1284; Pino, 708 F.2d at 530-31.
A court may also dismiss an indictment by relying on its supervisory powers. See Pino, 708 F.2d at 530. The supervisory powers theory is premised on the federal courts’ inherent ability to “formulate procedural rules not specifically required by the Constitution or the Congress.” United States v. Hasting, 461 U.S. 499, 505, 103 5. S.Ct. 1974, 1978, 76 L.Ed.2d 96 (1983). The supervisory powers theory focuses on deterring illegality and protecting judicial integrity. See McClintock, 748 F.2d at 1285 (citing United States v. Payner, 447 U.S. 727, 735 n. 8, 100 S.Ct. 2439, 2446, n. 8, 65 L.Ed.2d 468 (1980)). However, the common theme of the cases is that prosecutorial misconduct alone is not a valid reason to dismiss an indictment. “An indictment may be dismissed for prosecutorial misconduct which is flagrant to the point that there is some significant infringement on the grand jury’s ability to exercise independent judgment.” Pino, 708 F.2d at 530 (emphasis added); see also United States v. Page, 808 F.2d 723, 726-27 (10th Cir.1987).
Since briefing and argument we now have the Supreme Court’s opinion in United States v. Mechanik, 475 U.S. 66, 106 S.Ct. 938, 89 L.Ed.2d 50 (1986), for which we abated these appeals, and supplemental briefs thereon and our opinion in United States v. Taylor, 798 F.2d 1337 (10th Cir. 1986). In Mechanik, the defendants moved before the verdict for dismissal of the indictment on the ground that the simultaneous presence and examination of two Government agents had violated Fed.R. Crim.P. 6(d) (i.e., unauthorized presence before the grand jury). 475 U.S. at-, 106 S.Ct. at 940. The district judge took the motion under advisement until the conclusion of the trial, when he denied it. Id. at ---, 106 S.Ct. at 940-42. The Fourth Circuit reversed in part, dismissing one count of the indictment using a per se dismissal rule. The Supreme Court reversed in part, holding that “[mjeasured by the petit jury’s verdict, then, any error in the grand jury proceeding connected with the charging decision was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt.” Id. at-, 106 S.Ct. at 942 (footnote omitted). Moreover, the Court held:
[HJowever diligent the defendants may have been in seeking to discover the basis for the claimed violation of Rule 6(d), the petit jury’s verdict rendered harmless any conceivable error in the charging decision that might have flowed from the violation. In such a case, the societal costs of retrial after a jury verdict of guilty are far too substantial to justify setting aside the verdict simply because [1466]*1466of an error in the earlier grand jury proceedings.
Id. at-, 106 S.Ct. at 943.
In Taylor we distinguished between technical errors like those addressed in Mechanik and errors which adversely threaten a defendant’s right to fundamental fairness in the criminal process. The former category of error falls within the rule announced in Mechanik, while the later category of error is not rendered moot by a petit jury’s determination of guilt. See Taylor, 798 F.2d at 1340.
In light of Mechanik and the analysis in our Taylor and Pino opinions, we conclude that consideration of dismissal of an indictment because of prosecutorial misconduct before a grand jury calls for weighing several factors. First, a reviewing court must determine whether the claimed errors should be characterized as technical or procedural and affecting only the probable cause charging decision by the grand jury, or whether the alleged errors should be characterized as threatening the defendant’s right to fundamental fairness in the criminal process. If the errors can be characterized as procedural violations affecting only the probable cause charging decision by the grand jury, then the defendant must have successfully challenged the indictment before the petit jury rendered a guilty verdict. Mechanik, 475 U.S. at- --, 106 S.Ct. at 941-43. If, however, the errors can be characterized as threatening the defendant’s rights to fundamental fairness as “go[ing] beyond the question of whether the grand jury had sufficient evidence upon which to return an indictment, ...” a determination of guilt by a petit jury will not moot the issue. Taylor, 798 F.2d at 1340.
Second, it must be determined whether the prosecutor engaged in flagrant or egregious misconduct which significantly infringed on the grand jury’s ability to exercise independent judgment. Pino, 708 F.2d at 530. Thus even assuming misconduct, a failure by the defendant to show a significant infringement on the ability of the grand jury to exercise its independent judgment in the charging decision will result in the denial of a motion to dismiss. “The relevant inquiry focuses on the impact of the prosecutor’s misconduct on the grand jury’s impartiality, not on the degree of the prosecutor’s culpability.” De Rosa, 783 F.2d at 1405 (citation omitted).7
Here the district court dismissed the indictment as a whole, stating that the indictment was dismissed for numerous violations of Rule 6(d); that the indictment was dismissed because of numerous violations of Rule 6(e); that the indictment was not dismissed solely for use of “pocket immunity” in contravention of 18 U.S.C. §§ 6002 and 6003; that the indictment was not dismissed solely for violations of the Fifth Amendment; that the indictment was not dismissed solely for the knowing and deliberate presentation of misinformation to the grand jury; that the indictment was not dismissed solely for violations of the Sixth Amendment; and that the indictment was dismissed because of the totality of the circumstances, including the numerous violations of Rule 6(d) and (e), the violations of 18 U.S.C. §§ 6002 and 6003, the violations of the Fifth and Sixth Amendments, the knowing presentation of misinformation to the grand jury, and the mistreatment of witnesses. 594 F.Supp. at 1353.
In its separate dismissal for violations of Rule 6, the district court employed a per se rule of dismissal. However, in dismissing the indictment under the totality test, the court employed the standard explicated in Pino, 708 F.2d at 530. The Government contends that the district court’s factual findings as well as the legal conclusions [1467]*1467drawn were in error. Moreover, the Government alleges that the indictment was the product of an independent grand jury and thus valid. We agree substantially with the Government’s argument and therefore must reverse.
The defendants-appellees vigorously argue that the appropriate standard of review for the district court’s findings is the clearly erroneous standard, under which they contend that reversal is not warranted. Our review of whether the prosecutors engaged in specific flagrant or egregious misconduct before the grand jury involves questions of historical fact governed by the clearly erroneous standard. Campbell v. United States, 373 U.S. 487, 493, 83 S.Ct. 1356, 1360, 10 L.Ed.2d 501 (1963); cf. Anderson v. Bessemer City, 470 U.S. 564, 573, 105 S.Ct. 1504, 1511, 84 L.Ed.2d 518 (1985). Of course, such findings of historical fact are clearly erroneous only when “although there is evidence to support it, the reviewing court on the entire evidence is left with the definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been committed.” Anderson v. Bessemer City, 470 U.S. at 573, 105 S.Ct. at 1511 (1985).
Here, however, the facts are essentially admitted or specifically found by the district court and the law is undisputed. In such instances the issue is whether the law applied to the facts satisfies the legal standard of conduct binding on the prosecutor. Although the question can be viewed as one going to an ultimate fact, i.e., whether the independent judgment of the grand jury has been infringed, we nevertheless conclude that the issue primarily involves the consideration of legal principles, calling for de novo review by the appellate court. See Supre v. Ricketts, 792 F.2d 958, 961 (10th Cir.1986); cf. Chaney v. Brown, 730 F.2d 1334, 1346 (10th Cir.1984), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 1090, 105 S.Ct. 601, 83 L.Ed.2d 710 (1984) (holding that the issue whether withheld evidence might have affected guilt or punishment determination so that due process was denied is open for federal court review despite presumption of correctness of state court findings).
Accordingly, as to the trial court’s critical rulings that the misconduct found tainted the grand jury indictment with its illegality, see, e.g., 594 F.Supp. at 1349, that the abuses constituted systematic and pervasive overreaching, that the grand jury “was usurped and that time-honored constitutional principles were sullied,” 594 F.Supp. at 1352, we review the rulings de novo, while we accept the underlying findings of historical fact, with some exceptions noted in this opinion. See De Rosa, 783 F.2d at 1404 (“We review de novo a district court’s determination of whether a prosecutor’s alleged misconduct before a grand jury warrants dismissal of the indictment.” ).
Rule 6(d) violations by unauthorized presence before the grand jury
The district court found that “the [IRS] agents made many joint appearances before the grand jury, without the presence of government counsel, and read transcripts to the jurors.” 594 F.Supp. at 1330 (citations to record omitted). Finding the tandem reading of transcripts of proceedings before the first grand jury by the IRS agents to the second grand jury violative of Fed.R.Crim.P. 6(d), the district court found these violations to be one independent ground for dismissal of the indictment. 594 F.Supp. at 1344.
Rule 6(d) provides:
Who May Be Present. Attorneys for the government, the witness under examination, interpreters when needed and, for the purpose of taking the evidence, a stenographer or operator of a recording device may be present while the grand jury is in session, but no person other than the jurors may be present while the grand jury is deliberating or voting.
We agree there was a violation of the rule. The record clearly shows that on several occasions IRS agents appeared before the grand jury jointly reading transcripts. (XIX R. 482-85; XX R. 633-34, [1468]*1468692-93, 709-11). The record also shows that the prosecutors at times would leave the proceedings, allowing the agents to continue reading.8
Nevertheless, we disagree with the dismissal. We believe that Mechanik, which the district judge did not have before him, forecloses the use of a per se dismissal rule for violations of Rule 6:
We cannot accept the Court of Appeals’ view that a violation of Rule 6(d) requires automatic reversal of a subsequent conviction regardless of the lack of prejudice. Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 52(a) provides that errors not affecting substantial rights shall be disregarded. We see no reason not to apply this provision to ‘errors, defects, irregularities or variances’ occurring before a grand jury just as we have applied it to such error occurring in the criminal trial itself. See United States v. Hasting, 461 U.S. 499, 509 [103 S.Ct. 1974, 1981, 76 L.Ed.2d 96] (1983); Chapman v. California, 386 U.S. 18, 21-24 [87 S.Ct. 824, 826-828, 17 L.Ed.2d 705] (1967); United States v. Lane, 474 U.S. 438, 106 S.Ct. 725, 88 L.Ed.2d 814 (1986)].
Mechanik, 475 U.S. at -, 106 S.Ct. at 942.9
While here the violations were called to the attention of the court before trial so that we do not have a verdict of guilty to serve as a basis for holding that no prejudice in the charging decision occurred, we nevertheless are convinced that a per se rule of dismissal for Rule 6(d) violations as earlier applied in United States v. Pignatiello, 582 F.Supp. 251, 254-55 (D.Colo. 1984) (and cases cited therein), is no longer proper since Mechanik. We find no other circumstances showing that the violation of the Rule resulted in prejudice or infringement on the grand jury’s independent functioning, as discussed below. Thus the dismissal for violations of Rule 6(d) without more cannot stand.
Rule 6(e) violations
The district court also found that , the Government attorneys violated Fed.R. Crim.P. 6(e) by improperly disclosing and using grand jury materials, and by violating the rules of secrecy applicable to grand jurors, interpreters, stenographers, recording device operators, typists, Government attorneys, and persons to whom disclosure is made under Rule 6(e)(3)(A)(ii). 594 F.Supp. at 1331. The court held:
[W]here violations of Rule 6(e) are intentional or reckless and systematic, the sanction of contempt is insufficient and dismissal of the indictment is warranted. Under such circumstances, it is not necessary for the defendant to show that he has been prejudiced by the violations. In the instant case, however, such showing of prejudice has been convincingly made.
Id. at 1348 (emphasis added).
Rule 6(e) implements the traditional policy of cloaking grand jury proceedings. See United States v. Sells Engineering, Inc., 463 U.S. 418, 425, 103 S.Ct. 3133, 3138, 77 L.Ed.2d 743 (1983). The Supreme Court noted several reasons for the policy of secrecy:
First, if preindictment proceedings are made public, many prospective witnesses would be hesitant to come forward voluntarily, knowing that those against whom they testify would be aware of that testimony. Moreover, witnesses who appeared before the grand jury would be less likely to testify fully and frankly, as [1469]*1469they would be open to retribution as well as to inducements. There also would be the risk that those about to be indicted would flee, or would try to influence individual grand jurors to vote against indictment. Finally, by preserving the secrecy of the proceedings, we assure that persons who are accused but exonerated by the grand jury will not be held up to public ridicule.
Douglas Oil Co. of California v. Petrol Stops Northwest, 441 U.S. 211, 219, 99 S.Ct. 1667, 1673, 60 L.Ed.2d 156 (1979) (footnote ommitted). Rule 6(e) operates as the measure of the privilege of access to grand jury materials.
The Government contends that dismissal of an indictment is not an appropriate remedy for a Rule 6(e) violation. In so arguing, the Government relies on the maxim “expressio unius est exclusio alterius.” The Rule provides “[a] knowing violation of Rule 6 may be punished as a contempt of court.” Fed.R.Crim.P. 6(e)(2). The contempt language is permissive only. In the usual case Rule 6(e) can be enforced by a contempt citation. See United States v. Malatesta, 583 F.2d 748, 753 (5th Cir.1978), modified on other grounds, 590 F.2d 1379 (5th Cir.) (en banc), cert. denied, 444 U.S. 846, 100 S.Ct. 91, 62 L.Ed.2d 59 (1979). Nevertheless, violations of Rule 6(e) may justify dismissal of the indictment where there has been an abuse of the grand jury process. See United States v. Kabbaby, 672 F.2d 857, 863 (11th Cir.1982) (per curiam); Malatesta, 583 F.2d at 753. However, the focus of our inquiry must be on the integrity of the grand jury’s process and independence, rather than on the propriety of the Government’s conduct. See Kabbaby, 672 F.2d at 863; United States v. Phillips, 664 F.2d 971 (5th Cir.1981), cert. denied, 457 U.S. 1136, 102 S.Ct. 2965, 73 L.Ed.2d 1354 (1982).
Here the district court found reckless and systematic violations of Rule 6(e). Insofar as the court’s opinion relied on such Rule 6(e) violations as a per se ground of dismissal, we again disagree. We hold that dismissal cannot be premised on such Rule 6(e) violations, ipso facto.
The court did find in addition that the violations caused prejudice, and we will treat that point in discussing the dismissal based on the totality of the circumstances.
The totality of misconduct before the grand jury
The district court concluded its opinion by stating:
The indictment is dismissed because of the totality of the circumstances which include numerous violations of Rule 6(d) and (e), Fed.R.Crim.P., violations of 18 U.S.C. §§ 6002 and 6003, violations of the Fifth and Sixth Amendments to the United States Constitution, knowing presentation of misinformation to the grand jury and mistreatment of witnesses.
594 F.Supp. at 1353. The court employed the totality of the circumstances test of Pino, 708 F.2d at 530, to dismiss all twenty-seven counts of the indictment. The dismissal was premised on findings that Rule 6(d) and (e) were systematically violated; that IRS agents were sworn as “agents of the grand jury;” that summaries of evidence were misleading; that granting informal immunity was improper; that calling seven witnesses to appear solely to assert their Fifth Amendment privilege was improper; that a grand jury witness was mistreated; and that there were post-indictment violations of Massiah v. United States, 377 U.S. 201, 84 S.Ct. 1199, 12 L.Ed.2d 246 (1964).10
[1470]*1470We first consider whether the defendants challenged the indictment before the petit jury rendered a guilty verdict. It appears that all the named defendants successfully moved to dismiss the first twenty-six counts of the indictment before the commencement of the trial. The defendant Kilpatrick successfully moved to dismiss the twenty-seventh count (obstruction of justice) after the petit jury had rendered a guilty verdict. However, the district judge granted his motion for a new trial. Therefore, we will treat the defendant Kilpatrick’s claim as to the twenty-seventh count along with that of the other defendants.11 Thus we need not decide which errors affected only the probable cause determination of the grand jury and which errors implicated the defendants’ rights to fundamental fairness. The rationale for foreclosing review recited in Mechanik is not applicable with respect to this issue.
We are not persuaded by the several reasons given for the dismissal. First, summaries of evidence given before the grand jury are permissible and often helpful, especially in complicated cases such as this. It must be remembered that this complicated tax fraud case spanned twenty months and involved two grand juries. Moreover, the district court is prohibited from looking behind the indictment to determine if it was based on inadequate or incompetent evidence. Costello, 350 U.S. at 363, 76 S.Ct. at 408; see also United States v. Kysar, 459 F.2d 422, 424 (10th Cir.1972).12 We cannot in these proceedings go into trial of the general issue, the insufficiency of proof, or the errors in the evidence before the grand jury.
Second, we have held that the use of “informal immunity,”13 which has been frequently upheld, is entirely proper. See United States v. Anderson, 778 F.2d 602, 606 (10th Cir.1985) (and cases cited therein). Moreover, the defendants have failed to show how the use of informal immunity prejudiced the grand jury. See, e.g., id. at 606.
Third, the district court’s findings of post-indictment violations of Massiah could not possibly have affected the grand jury’s charging decision. Thus the use of such violations to justify dismissal was incorrect.
The remaining findings have somewhat more force but are insufficient to warrant dismissal of the indictment. The district court found systematic violations of Rule 6(d), causing prejudice to the defendants. 594 F.Supp. at 1353. After review of the district court opinions, the records of the hearings, and the grand jury proceedings, we are not persuaded that the defendants were prejudiced by the readings of prior grand jury testimony by IRS agents to the subsequent grand jury. We do not condone unsupervised readings by IRS agents unattended by Government attorneys; however, we are unable to find any evidence in the record of infringement on the grand jury’s ability to exercise its independent judgment.14
The district court further found systematic violations of Rule 6(e). The court found that the Government attorneys “relinquished to the IRS their responsibility to determine the persons to whom disclosure would be made.” 594 F.Supp. at 1345. The court also found that the IRS agents [1471]*1471manipulated the grand jury to obtain materials to be used for civil litigation. Id. We do not find support for these findings.
The district court points to the extensive disclosure of grand jury materials to IRS civil employees as well as the haphazard and post hoc method of identifying those to whom disclosure was made as probative of Rule 6(e) violations. 594 F.Supp. at 1343-44. The court also cites as grounds for dismissal the “serious possibility” that IRS representatives improperly manipulated the grand jury to obtain materials for civil litigation purposes; the judge later found that the record “confirms that the grand jury’s extraordinary powers and resources were, in part, initiated and channeled for just such a purpose.” Id. at 1332 (footnote omitted). The court found also that the prosecutors showed a disregard for the secrecy provisions of Rule 6(e); that grand jury information had been disclosed in violation of Rule 6(e); and that a prosecutor had improper motives when he imposed unauthorized secrecy obligations on grand jury witnesses.
Rule 6(e)(3)(A)(ii) permits the Government attorney to make disclosure, without court order, of matters occurring before the grand jury to “such government personnel ... as are deemed necessary by an attorney for the government to assist an attorney for the government in the performance of such attorney’s duty to enforce federal criminal law.” Fed.R.Crim.P. 6(e)(3)(A)(ii). The defendants point to portions of the record showing that disclosure of grand jury information was made to unknown numbers of civil IRS personnel who indexed all the subpoenaed grand jury documents. The computer indexing was done at Lowry Air Force Base in Colorado, in Ogden, Utah, and in Dallas, Texas. As to the latter two sites, there were no employees shown on the Rule 6(e) disclosure list. Assuming that this allegation finds support in the record, we fail to see how the grand jury’s independence was usurped in such a significant way as to amount to grand jury abuse. See Pino, 708 F.2d at 530.
Further, we do not see how the preparation of a catch-all disclosure list significantly infringed the grand jury’s independence. We note that the investigation lasted twenty months and involved the efforts of two grand juries. Moreover, the grand juries were presented with a complex tax fraud case. The aid of IRS experts was essential to a complete understanding of the case. The fact that some of the IRS personnel assigned to the grand jury investigation were from the civil division is by itself not sufficient to show grand jury abuse. There is nothing in Rule 6 to keep the Department of Justice from having IRS civil agents assigned to a grand jury investigation. See Sells Engineering, 463 U.S. at 428, 103 S.Ct. at 3140; see also Coson v. United States, 533 F.2d 1119, 1121 (9th Cir.1976) (per curiam).
Federal employees assisting the prosecutor in the investigation and prosecution of federal criminal violations are permitted access to grand jury materials without prior court permission. However, such support personnel may not use the materials except for purposes of assisting Government attorneys to enforce federal criminal laws. Sells Engineering, 463 U.S. at 428, 442, 103 S.Ct. at 3140, 3147; see also 8 J. Moore, supra at ¶ 6.05.[4][a], at 6-119.15 The Rule 6(e) proscription is on the use of the grand jury material and not on who obtains it. Sells Engineering, 463 U.S. at 428, 103 S.Ct. at 3140; see United States v. Baggot, 463 U.S. 476, 480, 103 S.Ct. 3164, 3167, 77 L.Ed.2d 785 (1983). Furthermore, the fact that the grand jury returned an extensive indictment is probative evidence that it was not abused to obtain evidence for civil purposes.16
[1472]*1472The court further found that fifteen letters prepared by the Government and mailed to the defendants’ business associates identifying the subject and the targets of the investigation violated the secrecy obligations of Rule 6(e) and should lead to dismissal of the indictment. 594 F.Supp. at 1334-35. We fail to see how such a violation of Rule 6(e) should result in dismissal of the indictment. There is no support for a finding that the grand jury’s independent judgment was infringed in any significant way. Moreover, the investigation by the IRS agents of numerous investors in the transactions in question here was proper even though the IRS agents limited the scope of the interviews by revealing the subject matter of the inquiry. Any misconduct was not so flagrant that the grand jury’s independence was infringed.
Finally, we agree with the district court’s finding that the prosecutor imposed unauthorized secrecy obligations on two witnesses before the grand jury. Id. at 1335-36. Although the admonition to the witnesses was contrary to the dictates of Rule 6(e)(2), no prejudice was shown in connection with the admonition, see United States v. Radetsky, 535 F.2d 556, 569 (10th Cir.), cert. denied, 429 U.S. 820, 97 S.Ct. 68, 50 L.Ed.2d 81 (1976), and the admonition cannot serve as a basis for dismissal of the indictment.
The district court found that the use of the title “agents of the grand jury” by IRS agents mislead the grand jury.17 However “Fed.R.Crim.P. 6 contemplates the use of government agents, such as I.R.S. agents, to assist an attorney for the government in his handling of a grand jury investigation.” Anderson, 778 F.2d at 605. We need not decide here whether the use of “grand jury agents” violated the Rule 6 prohibition against unauthorized presence or unauthorized disclosure.18 There is no showing by the defendants as to how this record reveals any actual prejudice to them in the proceedings by overreaching the grand jury or usurping its independence through this conduct.
Moreover, we do not see how the invocation of Fifth Amendment rights by grand jury witnesses should lead to dismissal of the indictment. The record shows that once the privilege was invoked the Government attorneys ceased questioning. See United States v. Thibadeau, 671 F.2d 75, 78 (2d Cir.1982). “[T]he privilege accorded one called before a grand jury is the election to refuse to give testimony which might tend to show he had committed a crime. It is not designed to effect a prohibition against inquiry by an investigative body.” United States v. Cefalu, 338 F.2d 582, 584 (7th Cir.1964). The fact that several witnesses planned to invoke their Fifth Amendment privilege if called before the grand jury cannot be transformed into a prohibition against inquiry. Once the privilege was invoked on the record, the prosecutors discontinued all questioning.19
Finally, the district court found that the prosecutor’s mistreatment of a [1473]*1473witness favorable to the defense prejudiced the defendants. 594 F.Supp. at 1343. We find the mistreatment of the witness, an expert on tax matters, unjustifiable. The mistreatment occurred during a recess but within the hearing of several grand jurors, witnesses, and attorneys. The district court’s opinion, however, focuses entirely on the conduct of the prosecutor and not on any resulting prejudice to the defendants. We conclude that the defendants have failed to show how the grand jury’s independence was breached. The defendants are hard put to argue that this incident in the course of a twenty-month investigation threatened the grand jury’s independence. See Pino, 708 F.2d at 530.
There is a presumption of regularity that attaches to grand jury proceedings. Hamling v. United States, 418 U.S. 87, 139 n. 23, 94 S.Ct. 2887, 2918 n. 23, 41 L.Ed.2d 590 (1974). Here the defendants failed to sustain their burden of overcoming the presumption. The grand jury transcripts show an active, independent, and questioning grand jury, familiar with the record, one that thoughtfully questioned, rather than submitted to statements and suggestions of the Government attorneys.20 The district court erred in focusing primarily on the propriety of the Government's conduct rather than on possible interference with the integrity and independence of the grand jury. “Dismissal of an indictment returned after deliberation by a grand jury is a very drastic action.” Anderson, 778 F.2d at 606. It can only be warranted when the misconduct complained of significantly infringes “on the grand jury’s ability to exercise independent judgment.” Pino, 708 F.2d at 530.
We conclude that the totality of conduct before the grand jury did not warrant dismissal of the indictment. The accumulation of misconduct by the Government attorneys did not significantly infringe “on the grand jury’s ability to exercise independent judgment.” Pino, 708 F.2d at 530. Accordingly we hold that the district court erred in its conclusions that the grand jury’s function was usurped and that the indictment was tainted with illegality, 594 F.Supp. at 1349, 1352, following the de novo review we feel we should conduct. See Part II-B, supra. We are also persuaded that if those determinations are ul[1474]*1474tímate fact-findings, they are clearly erroneous in light of the record.21
As stated, we conclude that the accumulation of misconduct by the Government attorneys did not significantly infringe on the grand jury’s ability to exercise independent judgment. Without such infringement, the drastic remedy of dismissal of the indictment is unwarranted. We cannot agree that the remedy can be used without such a showing on the theory of exercise of supervisory powers, as the dissent concludes. Our decisions do not support such a view, and those of the Supreme Court have not established a different rule. In Anderson the opinion of Judge Kane is clear that his dismissal was based on an exercise of supervisory powers. 577 F.Supp. 223, 232-33 (D.Colo.1988) (“It is well within a district court’s supervisory powers to insure that the grand jury’s integrity as an independent body is not destroyed in the public eye”), and the Judge concluded that the Government conduct there significantly impaired the grand jury’s ability to exercise independent judgment. Id. at 234. We reversed, concluding that the grand jury’s independence was not [1475]*1475shown to have been infringed, citing Pino. Anderson, 778 F.2d at 604, 605, 606. Our Pino opinion, quoted by the dissent, is arguably unclear on the point. Pino does discuss the exercise of supervisory powers in a statement separate from that on infringement of the grand jury’s judgment. However the full discussion in the opinion shows no holding that a dismissal is justified without “some significant infringement on the grand jury’s ability to exercise independent judgment.” Pino, 708 F.2d at 530 (citations omitted). That requirement is stated immediately following citations and a statement that “dismissal may be based on the Fifth Amendment Due Process Clause or upon the court’s inherent supervisory powers.” Id. In any event, Anderson makes clear the requirement of infringement of the grand jury’s independence.
We do not read the Supreme Court’s opinions as opening the door to dismissals on supervisory power notions without a showing of infringement on the grand jury’s functions in cases like this. McNabb v. United States, 318 U.S. 332, 63 S.Ct. 608, 87 L.Ed. 819 (1943), relied on by the dissent, did say that it was unnecessary to reach the constitutional issue and reversed as an exercise of judicial supervision over the administration of criminal justice, “establishing and maintaining civilized standards of procedure and evidence.” Id. at 340, 63 S.Ct. at 613. While this was the stated basis for the reversal, the opinion in no way suggests that such a ruling should be made without regard to the harmless error rule. See Fed.R.Crim.P. 52. Young v. United States, — U.S. -, 107 S.Ct. 2124, 95 L.Ed.2d 740 (1987), also furnishes no basis for a conclusion that the Court favors an exercise of supervisory powers to dismiss indictments without regard for whether the grand jury’s functions were infringed. The plurality opinion (Brennan, Marshall, Blackmun and Stevens, JJ.), held that society’s interest in disinterested prosecution would not adequately be protected by harmless error analysis, but there was no majority opinion expressing that view in the circumstances of that case. Moreover Young involved special circumstances where appointment of private counsel, having professional obligations to his client, for prosecution of a criminal contempt proceeding raised special conflicts problems of an unusual nature.
We remain convinced that the drastic remedy of dismissal of an indictment, whether premised on due process or supervisory powers theories, cannot be exercised without a significant infringement on the grand jury’s ability to exercise independent judgment.22 We are instructed clearly in United States v. Hasting, 461 U.S. 499, 509, 103 S.Ct. 1974, 1980, 76 L.Ed.2d 96 (1983), to ignore errors that are harmless, including most constitutional violations.23 Finally, United States v. Russell, 411 U.S. 423, 435, 93 S.Ct. 1637, 1644, 36 L.Ed.2d 366 (1973), reversed a dismissal, cautioning against a “chancellor’s foot” veto over law enforcement practices of which a court disapproves.
III.
The judgment of the district court dismissing the indictment is reversed and the cases are remanded with directions to reinstate all counts of the indictment.