If Sen. Charles Grassley, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, had his way, the unredacted report might get out. His committee has oversight of the IRS, and he thought a month or so back that he had the agreement of the three-judge panel overseeing Barrett to allow him to receive the unredacted report, and make it public for the citizenry to see. Unfortunately, Democrats on the Hill led by Sen. Byron Dorgan, Sen. Dick Durbin, and Rep. Henry Waxman have thwarted Grassley's wishes by late-night legislative subterfuge. They were assisted in this project by two easily confused Republicans, Sen. Kit Bond and Rep. Joe Knollenberg. Now the 120 pages of the report that outline illegal behavior by the IRS and Justice Department during the Clinton administration will be suppressed, unless the investigative journalists Safire hopes for get to work on the Jan. 19 release. Of course, Republican leaders Sen. Bill Frist and Rep. Denny Hastert could weigh in, too. They head both houses of Congress.
Just before Christmas, one of the perpetrators in the Democrats' cover up, Durbin, the Minority Whip, boldly asseverated that "We will initiate at the beginning of this year one of the most serious debates and discussions on Capitol Hill in our history about individual rights and liberties." Well, I suggest that Frist and Hastert hold Durbin to his words. Surely, Grassley will be on their side.
This report by Independent Counsel Barrett is the first time in history that the unique powers of an Independent Counsel have been brought to bear on the IRS. With Barrett's grand jury subpoena power he has, sources familiar with the report say, opened the internal workings of the IRS against private citizens for the first time. For 10 years, and at a cost of over $20 million to taxpayers, Barrett has put together this important report. Surely, the taxpayers have a right to see it.
Durbin has declaimed his desire to look into the state of our "individual rights and liberties." No agency of the federal government has more power to infringe on our rights and liberties than the IRS. Surely Durbin should be held accountable for suppressing this report. There are no legitimate grounds for not publicizing it in its entirety. The reports of every other Independent Counsel have been published in full, save for brief sections containing classified materials. Gutting a report of 120 pages of detailed government wrongdoing goes too far. Are Safire's investigative reporters ready to pounce? Will Frist and Hastert rise to their responsibilities? Civil libertarians throughout the country should take note and so should historians.