A federal judge Wednesday ordered the government to quickly process and release a long-secret report detailing an investigation into whether anyone in the independent counsel’s office in the 1990s leaked grand jury information to the press.
The report is being sought by a liberal pressure group hoping to find dirt on Judge Brett Kavanaugh, President Trump’s nominee to the Supreme Court, who was part of the independent counsel’s office when it was probing the Clintons.
Judge Royce C. Lamberth ordered the National Archives to release the report by 3 p.m. Friday.
Only four copies of the report were created and only one was still in existence, the judge said. He’s now reviewed the materials, considered both the reasons to make the document public and objections by one person who was interviewed for the report — not Judge Kavanaugh — and concluded the factors weighed in favor of release.
“After 20 years of secrecy, we may soon find out who was doing the leaking on the Starr Commission,” said American Oversight, the liberal group that won release of the document. “If Judge Kavanaugh was involved in leaking confidential information, the Senate and the public have a right to know before any confirmation vote.”
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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