Post by Moses on May 25, 2005 4:34:10 GMT -5
May 25, 2005
Justice at $2 Million a Year
Ten years ago, with all the flourishes that attend political scandal in Washington, an independent counsel was appointed to investigate the case of Henry Cisneros, the former housing secretary. After four years of investigation, Mr. Cisneros pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and paid a $10,000 fine for lying about how much he paid a former mistress. Case closed? Not at all.
The independent counsel's work on the Cisneros case continues to grind forward six years later at a cost of $20 million and counting. A final report is promised sometime in the future. Taxpayers must be waiting with bated breath to read it.
The court overseeing the inquiry was informed two years ago that the investigative phase was over. A Democratic move this year to close off financing of the inquiry was approved by the Senate but was suddenly struck from a budget bill this week in negotiations with the House. It's hard to imagine anything was behind that move besides partisanship.
The Cisneros inquiry has outlived the independent counsel law itself. Kenneth Starr's investigation of President Bill Clinton, history buffs should know, is technically still open, but it is in the archiving stages and is costing far less than the Cisneros inquiry, run by David Barrett, a Washington lawyer.
Mr. Barrett's office properly notes that he cannot comment under the professional strictures of the independent counsel. But he has reportedly prepared a 400-page report. The sooner it appears the better, so we can file the Cisneros case with Jarndyce v. Jarndyce.
