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barrett, david

<p class="article_main_text">==</p><p><b>David M. Barrett</b>

has been practicing law in Washington, D.C. since 1975, specializing in

litigation and administrative, agency, and legislative law. His diverse

career has involved military service in the U.S. Navy and he has served

as Independent Counsel for the United States, Special Counsel to the

United States House of Representatives, Presidential Committees, United

States Attorney’s Office, legal instructor, private practice and Boards

of numerous corporate entities. David Barrett was a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_prosecutor" title="Special prosecutor">special prosecutor</a> assigned to investigate the long-running <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Cisneros_payments_controversy" title="Henry Cisneros payments controversy">Henry Cisneros payments controversy</a>.

He was noted for objecting to Clinton administration interference. In

2006, after the investigation's conclusion, he returned to his previous

practice. Barrett is the recipient of one of the highest awards bestowed

on a civilian by The Federal Bureau of Investigation – <i>The Thomas Jefferson Award</i>. The inscription on that award reads: “<i>To

David M Barrett with respect and gratitude for your service to the

nation, perseverance, and dedication to duty from your colleagues at the

Federal Bureau of Investigation</i>” signed <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Freeh" title="Louis Freeh">Louis B. Freeh</a>, Director.</p>

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<h2>Contents</h2>

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<ul><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Barrett%28prosecutor%29#Early_life_and_education"><span class="tocnumber">1</span> <span class="toctext">Early life and education</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Barrett%28prosecutor%29#Military_service"><span class="tocnumber">2</span> <span class="toctext">Military service</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-3"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Barrett%28prosecutor%29#Career"><span class="tocnumber">3</span> <span class="toctext">Career</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-4"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Barrett%28prosecutor%29#See_also"><span class="tocnumber">4</span> <span class="toctext">See also</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-5"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Barrett_%28prosecutor%29#References"><span class="tocnumber">5</span> <span class="toctext">References</span></a></li></ul>

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<h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Early_life_and_education">Early life and education</span></h2>

<p>Barrett was born in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffalo,_New_York" title="Buffalo, New York">Buffalo, New York</a>

and raised in South Bend, Indiana the son of a Notre Dame law

professor. Barrett earned a B.A. Degree in English from the University

of Notre Dame and a J.D. Degree from the Georgetown University Law

Center. He attended both schools on academic scholarships and graduated

from both with Honors. While attending Georgetown, Barrett served an

Editor of the <i>Law Review</i>.</p>

<h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Military_service">Military service</span></h2>

<p>From 1959-1962, between undergraduate and law degrees, Barrett was a

member of the United States Navy, having received a commission in the

regular Navy. He spent over 3 years aboard ships of the Atlantic Fleet

and served as navigator on the staff of Commander Amphibious Squadron

Four. Barrett was honorably discharged from the Navy with the rank of

Lieutenant.</p>

<h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Career">Career</span></h2>

<p>In the years following Georgetown Law School, Barrett served as law

clerk to the Honorable William B. Jones of the United States District

Court for The District of Columbia. Barrett then joined the faculty of

the University of Notre Dame Law School. In 1969-69 he served as County

Attorney for Saint Joseph County, Indiana.

Barrett moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1969 where over the next several

years he served as Vice President and General Counsel of The William K.

Warren Foundation, one of the largest private foundations in the United

States. He also was Vice President and General Counsel of Warren

American Oil Company. From 1971-1979 he served as a Director of The

American Bank of Tulsa and was one of the original incorporators of that

bank.

Barrett also served on the Boards of the Children’s Medical Center

and The Vianney School for Girls in Tulsa. In 1975 Barrett returned to

Washington D.C. and established a private practice at Barrett and

Schuler and predecessor firms. As Managing Partner, Barrett specialized

in litigation and administrative and legislative law. Over a number of

years he has represented a variety of domestic and international

clients.

In 1976, Barrett was appointed by President Gerald Ford to serve on

the President’s Committee on Mental Retardation, a capacity he served

until 1980. Barrett has also served as a member of the National Center

for Law and the Handicapped.

In 1978-1979, he was retained by the United States House of

Representatives as Special Counsel to the House of Representatives

Committee on Standards of Official Conduct (Ethics Committee) in a

sensitive matter involving one of the most senior members of the House

of Representatives, Congressman Daniel Flood, regarding allegations of

bribery and related offenses. Barrett completed a lengthy investigation

resulting in Congressman Flood resigning from the House of

Representatives. Barrett was commended by the Ethics Committee for his

fairness and professionalism.

In 1995, three Judges of The United States Supreme Court of Appeals,

appointed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (the Special

Division), appointed <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Barrett as Independent Counsel for The United States to investigate allegations that <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Cisneros_payments_controversy" title="Henry Cisneros payments controversy">Henry Cisneros</a> had lied to FBI investigators during background checks prior to being named Secretary of HUD.</span></p>

<h2><span class="mw-headline" id="See_also">See also</span></h2>

<ul><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barrett_Report" title="Barrett Report">Barrett Report</a></li></ul>

<h2><span class="mw-headline" id="References">References</span></h2>

<p>Source from Biography/Resume supplied by Subject.</p>

<div id="mw-normal-catlinks" class="mw-normal-catlinks"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Categories" title="Help:Categories">Categories</a>:

<ul><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Living_people" title="Category:Living people">Living people</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:University_of_Notre_Dame_alumni" title="Category:University of Notre Dame alumni">University of Notre Dame alumni</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Georgetown_University_Law_Center_alumni" title="Category:Georgetown University Law Center alumni">Georgetown University Law Center alumni</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:People_from_Buffalo,_New_York" title="Category:People from Buffalo, New York">People from Buffalo, New York</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:American_prosecutors" title="Category:American prosecutors">American prosecutors</a></li></ul>

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<p>&nbsp;</p><p class="article_main_text"></p><p class="article_main_text">After graduating as an economics major

from Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas, in 1990, Griffin entered

Tulane Law School. While at the New Orleans university, Griffin

became a leader of the Tulane chapter of the Federalist Society, a

powerful conservative legal organization and the chief training ground

for right-wing lawyers dedicated to rolling back the liberal gains of

the Warren Court and supportive of unrestrained presidential powers.

After graduating in 1994, Griffin parlayed

the Federalist connection to land his first and only legal job in the

private sector, at Jones Walker Waechter Pointevent Carrere &

Denegre, a New Orleans law firm where two members of the firm sat on

the local board of the Federalist Society.

In 1995, Griffin headed to Washington to

work as an associate independent counsel under David M. Barrett, a

Republican lawyer selected by a conservative-dominated three-judge

panel to investigate Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Henry

G. Cisneros.

Barrett was one of several hard-line

conservative lawyers picked by U.S. Appeals Court Judge David Sentelle,

a protégé of Sen. Jesse Helms, to mount aggressive investigations into

alleged wrongdoing by President Clinton and his administration.

Then one of the nation’s leading Hispanic

politicians, Cisneros was accused of misreporting sums of money that he

had paid to a mistress. During an investigation that lasted 10 years

and cost $21 million, Barrett managed to secure from Cisneros a guilty

plea on a misdemeanor charge of lying to the FBI about the payments,

effectively destroying his promising political career.

In a final report, Barrett thanked Griffin

“for helping in the early stages of the investigation.” Griffin’s

résumé paints a more substantial picture, however, saying he

“interviewed numerous witnesses with the FBI and supervised the

execution of a search warrant, drafted subpoenas and pleadings and

questioned witnesses before a federal grand jury.”

After leaving Barrett’s staff, Griffin

took a job as senior investigative counsel to the Republican-controlled

House Committee on Government Reform, which was looking into other

alleged offenses by Democrats, including improper campaign

contributions.

Griffin next went home to Arkansas to

manage the Attorney General campaign of Betty Dickey, a Republican who

lost to Democrat Mark Pryor, the future U.S. senator.</p><p class="article_main_text">
</p><p class="article_main_text">==</p><p class="article_main_text">partner sidley austin</p><div class="authorDetailImage">
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                <p>BRADFORD A. BERENSON is a litigator in the 

Washington, D.C., office whose practice focuses on the defense of white

collar criminal cases, investigations by government agencies and

congressional committees, and other civil or constitutional matters that

present unusual legal, public relations, or political risks. He has

defended criminal cases at every stage of development, from internal

investigations and grand jury proceedings through trials, sentencings,

and appeals. Mr. Berenson’s practice has included criminal matters in

the fraud, environmental, health care, pharmaceutical, and public

corruption areas. In addition, Mr. Berenson served as a consultant to

Independent Counsel David M. Barrett in the prosecution of former HUD

Secretary Henry Cisneros. He has also handled a variety of civil and

appellate cases in federal court.</p><p class="article_main_text">==
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