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| Home Front: Politix |
| Barret Report on Clinton's Cisneros Scandal to be Released but Key Parts Being Witheld so Far |
| 2005-10-26 |
| Sunshine for the Barrett Report October 26, 2005; Page A18 So it looks as if Independent Counsel David Barrett's report will see the light of day after all. On Monday the so-called Special Division of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the release (10 days from now) of all but one section, leaving its fate in the hands of Congress. Mr. Barrett, readers may recall, is the last of the Clinton-era independent counsels. Originally appointed to investigate a tax-fraud case involving former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Henry Cisneros, he later expanded his probe to include alleged attempts at a cover-up by officials at the Justice Department and the IRS. The report has been done for more than a year, but a lot of worried Democrats have been doing their best to keep it from being published. One strategy has been repeated delaying motions by the law firm of Williams & Connolly, which represents Mr. Cisneros and other relevant figures. Meanwhile, Democratic Congressmen kept complaining about the costs of Mr. Barrett's operation and introduced bills that would defund him. Monday's release order would likely not have come without a different kind of pressure from this page and from Congress -- particularly Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley. Last week the Senate passed an amendment he sponsored that would defund Mr. Barrett, as the Democrats wanted. But it would also require publication of his report. In other words, no more delaying tactics. Senator Grassley also wrote a letter to the Special Division requesting that he be given access to a copy, which only seems reasonable given that the independent counsel and Special Division are creatures of Congress in the first place. "The Congress and the taxpayers have a right to know its contents," he wrote. The only catch here is that Monday's release order does not apply to Section 5 of the Report -- which is said to be the most interesting section, as it's the one dealing with the Justice Department and the IRS. That's why it's still imperative for Congress to go ahead and pass the Grassley Amendment, which is currently attached to an appropriations bill in the House-Senate conference committee. After 10 years and $21 million, we think the taxpayers have a right to judge Mr. Barrett's findings in full. |
| Posted by:lotp |
| #1 Monday's release order does not apply to Section 5 of the Report -- which is said to be the most interesting section, as it's the one dealing with the Justice Department and the IRS. Methinks the Dim's are worried about opening the proverbial can of worms with the Clinton Justice Dept & IRS. AFAIK there was only 1 resignation and no investigation or prosecutions on the political abuse of the IRS (many conservative non-profits audited, but of course the NEA shows no $ spent on political causes). |
| Posted by: wrinkleneck_trout 2005-10-26 12:50 |