Possible Cover-up at Justice Department
NewsMax.com
Friday, Jan. 5, 2001
Fox News Channel is reporting that Attorney General Janet Reno's senior staffers "have threatened to fire an independent counsel investigating a possible cover-up at the Justice Department."
According to Fox News:
• Independent counsel Dave Barrett, investigating former Clinton housing secretary Henry Cisneros, has since the spring of 2000 been giving a grand jury new evidence that DOJ officials "improperly tried to influence actions by the Internal Revenue Service." Senior Justice officials pressed Barrett to stop his inquiry.
• Barrett found evidence of possible tax fraud by Cisneros, who pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor for lying during an FBI background check. Justice and IRS officials said tax fraud was outside Barrett's jurisdiction, and they would not pursue the matter.
• A top IRS lawyer, now a whistleblower for the independent counsel, said senior DOJ officials were trying to shield Cisneros and attempting to influence the IRS in other cases, too.
Fox News noted that while the IRS has been accused before of easing up on President Clinton's supporters and pursuing his enemies, this was the first time a federal grand jury has investigated such claims.
Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:
Clinton Scandals
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