Hiding the Cisneros Report
October 7, 2005; Page A16

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.

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