The American Spectator

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p> BARRETT RAPPORT br> Re: R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr. & Brian McGuire's Cisneros Report Stirred Worries of Democrats : /p>

Anybody notice that the timing of the "one-two" Al Gore and Hillary swipes at Bush were designed to beat the news cycle before this report was released? Anybody want to place a bet that this was just mere coinidence?

p>Lord, I am starting to get as paranoiac as a Democrat... br> -- Cookie Sewell br> Aberdeen, Maryland /p>

Your article on Special Counsel David Barrett's report was quite interesting. One point in the twelfth paragraph caught my attention. It's stated that in 1997 John Filan sent a memo to the IRS Chief Inspector. Gary Bell was the Chief Inspector at that time. Because of the sensitivity of the matter, he likely would have referred it to Valerie Lau, who was the Treasury Inspector General.

Lau had no investigative experience and had reportedly received the appointment because her mother was a major contributor to the Clinton campaign. As you may recall, she got into trouble in 1996 and 1997 because of her involvement in the FBI Filegate controversy and for two procurement contracts her office awarded. Some of the more blatant acts committed included opening investigations on two Secret Service agents who refuted White House claims that outdated Secret Service lists led to requests for FBI files on prominent Republicans. It's likely that John Filan's complaint ended up in the "black hole" of the Treasury IG. Thus, in addition to the tax case being fixed in Washington, the complaint that it was fixed probably received similar treatment in the Treasury Department.

A National Journal article on Valerie Lau, dated January 12, 1998 will provide additional details. Written by Annys Shin, it's here.

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