Posted on 04/27/2005 4:55:42 PM PDT by wagglebee
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said Wednesday morning that he'll press for the release of findings by independent counsel David Barrett, whose probe into former Housing Secretary Henry Cisneros reportedly concluded that Clinton officials at the Internal Revenue Service conducted politically motivated audits of White House enemies.
"I believe the investigators should be permitted to complete their work and to issue their final report," Sen. Frist told syndicated radio host Tony Snow, who had asked if he would guarantee the report's release. "I'm pressing the conferees on the supplemental bill to take that amendment out," the Republican leader added.
Frist was referring to a rider attached to an Emergency Supplemental Appropriations bill by Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., that will fund government operations after September 30 - but will defund Barrett's probe and prevent the publication of his report.
Dorgan's rider will reportedly bury charges that key officials in the Justice Department and the IRS abused their power by targeting political opponents of Bill Clinton.
Writing on his Web site, Snow said, "those charges — not the Cisneros case — have served as the focal point of Barrett’s investigation for the last several years."
At least a dozen Clinton scandal witnesses – including Sexgate accusers Gennifer Flowers, Paula Jones, Elizabeth Ward Gracen and Juanita Broaddrick – were targeted by audits during the 1990s.
Conservative groups critical of the Clinton administration were also audited, including the Christian Coalition, Citizens for a Sound Economy, the Freedom Alliance, the Heritage Foundation, the NRA and others.
Most of the suspicious audits took place when the IRS was run by Margaret Milner Richardson, a longtime friend of Sen. Hillary Clinton from their days together at Yale Law School.
I think the money to fund publication of this report could be raised very easily through private sources, I'd be happy to contribute.
I've always said that Clinton was the Democrats' answer to Richard Nixon.
I can scarcely imagine the UPROAR by the MSM and members of the Socialist Democrat Party that would occur had the tables been turned and a Republican submitted a rider to defund a probe of a rogue Republican IRS.
Frist should have nailed stricken the amendment off FIRST rather than pawning if off on others after the fact.
I do hope DeLay is at least on the committee - he'll get rid of it.
The payback defense is only another attempt not to admit the true facts.
Clinton broke the law and Hillary did also with her illegal political contributions.
Margaret Milner Richardson needs to start pondering the nature of the "bullet" she wants to take for BJ and the Hildabeast.
The clintoons broke the law?... Haven't you heard? Democrat voters don't care if their little deviant god broke the law. The stink will now be that anyone would stoop to expose the law breaking.
Boy, I hope there is big trouble for ole Bill---he has skated way too much through his life---and had taken the respect FOR the US with him--
I think the dems like to say that Bush has ruined US credibility because of no WMDs, but I don't see how that could be, since our enemies (France, mainly) were just as convinced as the US was. But, I think the Clinton Administration set the groundwork by not attending to business on the terror front while diddling in the White House!
I mean, it wouldn't do for liberals to be seen as paranoid fanatics who use the IRS to intimidate journalists, citizens, political opponents.
MY GOD, how very naive you sound! Nixon wouldn't make a pimple on either one of the Klinton's corrupt asses. Geeeez...think before you post!
I want to know all that our tax dollars learned about Chi-com influence in the U.S.
(Do it before Sandy Berger gets his security clearance back and starts wearing over-sized "crack pants" around the archives, please.)
But won't wittle-Billy hurt his wittle fingy?
Clinton/Gore allowed China to have missile technology to be able to reach and target and city in the US with nukes. That IMO was far worse.
Any relation to the New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson?
Good! This is the only way to go - fight fire with fire.
The Dems have a lot more skeletons in their closets than we have in ours, and I'm sure if we make it clear we really intend to go after them, the Dems might suddenly decide to become a little more cooperative. But we've got to carry through on it if we threaten it.
If Republicans have the guts to go through with this, I'll be surprised.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.