Word late tonight is that House and Senate conferees have dropped a
Democratic attempt to de-fund independent counsel David Barrett. Barrett is
the independent counsel chosen to investigate former Clinton administration
housing secretary Henry Cisneros. In 1999, Cisneros pleaded guilty to a
misdemeanor after he was accused of lying to the FBI about payments he made
to a former girlfriend. During the investigation, Barrett is said to have
uncovered evidence that some Internal Revenue Service officials used their
position to protect Cisneros. Barrett’s final report is said to be a
revealing look at the IRS’s actions. In light of that, some Senate
Democrats, including Byron Dorgan and John Kerry, tried to kill the Barrett
report by immediately cutting off funds to his office, which would make it
impossible for Barrett to publish his findings. But tonight, that attempt
has been defeated, and it is likely that the Barrett report will be made
public, perhaps as soon as next month.