"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."
http://corner.nationalreview.com/05_...ive.asp#080586
