Posted on 10/24/2005 3:32:10 PM PDT by Checkers
There is major news in the fight over the report of independent counsel David Barrett's investigation into the Henry Cisneros matter. Late today, the three-judge panel overseeing Barrett ordered that parts of his report be released to the public -- and that all of the report be given to Congress.
"The Court orders that the independent counsel, with all deliberate speed, prepare for release and make release of the now pending Final Report, except for that portion designated as Section V," the order says. It is not clear what is contained in Section V, but it is known that several Clinton-era figures have sought to prevent the Barrett report from being released, and perhaps the material in Section V relates to that. In any event, the Court further ordered Barrett to prepare a version of the report containing the publicly-withheld sections and deliver it to the leaders of Congress and the chairmen and ranking members of several committees.
But there is a catch -- the judges stipulated that their order be stayed for at least ten days in the event that any figures involved in the matter should petition the Supreme Court for a stay. "If no such stay is sought within the period granted by this paragraph, then this stay shall be lifted," the order says. One unspoken aspect of that provision is that whoever has been blocking the report's release in private -- under seal -- would, if a petition is made to the Supreme Court, have to do so publicly.
"I am extremely pleased with the decision of the court," Barrett told National Review today. "The Congress and the public have a right to know the contents of the entire report, and this is a step in that direction."
The one where Margaret Milner "Peggy" Richardson, a long-standing Hillary Clinton friend, headed the IRS and audited people to stop them from telling the truth about the Clintons.
Hiding the Cisneros Report
Hillary Clinton's lawyer is staying very busy.
Friday, October 7, 2005 12:01 a.m. EDT
What don't David Kendall, the law firm of Williams & Connolly, and clients such as Hillary Rodham Clinton want the public to know?
We'd have thought that question would be on more Washington lips as the report of Independent Counsel David Barrett languishes under seal at the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. Mr. Barrett is the fellow who began investigating a tax-fraud case involving former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Henry Cisneros but expanded his probe to include alleged abuses by the Clinton Justice Department and IRS.
Yet instead of exhibiting any curiosity, the press corps is again writing its semi-annual stories about the costs of keeping Mr. Barrett's office open. The fact is that Mr. Barrett would love to close up shop if only Democratic lawyers and the judges of the so-called "special division" that oversees his work would let him.
Readers may recall the last iteration of this drama in April, when Senators Byron Dorgan, John Kerry and Richard Durbin attached an amendment to a war appropriations bill that would have stopped funding Mr. Barrett's office. We pointed out that this would have returned control of the Barrett probe to one of the very departments implicated--Justice--and, happily, the amendment was killed.
Now a new report from the Government Accountability Office is being used as an excuse for still more complaints about the Barrett probe. We agree it's high time it finished, but this isn't possible until somebody puts a stop to delaying tactics by lawyers for those named in the report. (Mr. Cisneros himself long ago pleaded guilty, and was pardoned by Bill Clinton in 2001.)
In April we reported that Williams & Connolly--which represents many prominent Democrats, including Mr. Cisneros--had filed more than 190 motions and appeals, one of which alone took 18 months to deal with. Now we are told that yet another secret delay order has been granted by the court. What's more, Williams & Connolly's Mr. Kendall--who as far as anyone knows represents not Mr. Cisneros but Mrs. Clinton--has been among those spotted at the courthouse reviewing the IC's report.
One possible motivation isn't hard to imagine: Senator Clinton is running for re-election next year (never mind any possible Presidential ambitions), and she can't be excited about the possible release of a report that might reflect poorly on the Clinton Administration's IRS and Justice Department, especially with the IRS having been run by her friend, Peggy Richardson. Our calls this week to Mr. Kendall and Williams & Connolly for comment on the delays were not returned.
What we do know for sure is that the 400-plus-page Barrett Report is essentially done, and has been for about a year; that the rules that allow a review and comment period for individuals named in IC reports are fair and proper; but that the review period (which was scheduled to finish in May) must end sometime if the public interest in seeing the results of the $22 million investigation is to be served.
We're told the Barrett report will be an eye-opener, as it is the first time the IRS has ever been investigated using grand jury subpoena powers. If the Senators and Congressmen like Henry Waxman are as concerned about the use of taxpayer money as they've professed to be, they'd urge Williams & Connolly to resolve its outstanding issues with Mr. Barrett and allow his report to finally see the light of day.
Perhaps they can get Sandy Burglar to go "look" at the paper evidence.
It broke 34 minutes ago.
That's breaking!
The Daily News has learned that lawyers are fighting to suppress a potentially embarrassing final report from the probe that found Housing Secretary Henry Cisneros lied to the FBI about paying $250,000 in hush money to his ex-mistress.
Cisneros paid a $10,000 fine after he was found guilty in 1999 and was later pardoned by Bill Clinton. And though neither Hillary Clinton nor her husband was targeted by independent counsel David Barrett, his 420-page final report sent to a special court 13 months ago will include alleged abuses of power by his administration, sources told The News.
After Cisneros was convicted, Barrett started looking into allegations that the IRS and Justice Department aides stymied a tax fraud case against the disgraced Housing and Urban Development secretary and audited Clinton critics.
Ex-IRS Commissioner Peggy Richardson, who remains a close friend of the Clintons, is among the officials cited in the report, sources said.
Lawyers at the Washington firm Williams and Connolly who work for Cisnero and both Clintons have argued to judges overseeing the case that allegations of illegal activity, for which no charges were filed, should be snipped before the report is made public.
Actually- it's often attributed to Shakespeare but it's from Sir Walter Scott:
"Oh what a tangled web we weave,
When first we practice to deceive".
ping
MacBeth is so much more appropriate.
The rats will just get somebody who is already damaged goods to do it - - maybe Cisneros himself.
You're right!
ping
Another job for Sandy Burger?
Any word on what David Kendall will do next?
I think he's done enough for them. There must be some other poor sap they can con or blackmail into taking the fall for them.
I'm curious. :-)
All the crimes are probably listed in Section V!
ping
thanx. I'd like to know what's in Section V.
The American voter can easily understand the terror of an IRS audit. Not a good thing for missus clinton, IRS abuser-in-fact and 'presumptive' prez nominee.
pinged for your perusal
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