Court Opinion

ID: 9439126
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-03 06:22:44.484917+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:26:10.685869
License: Public Domain

WALD, Circuit Judge,
concurring in Part I:
I believe that a reasonable construction of the original mandate shows that it is “demonstrably related” to the tax evasion and asset concealment prosecutions in dispute here. That, however, is only because, as the panel opinion makes clear, at least some of the consulting monies Hubbell received in the years 1994-1997 may have been tainted as hush money. “The timing, sources, and extent of the payments make the belief that they were hush money reasonable.” Panel Opinion (“Panel Op.”) at 20. Thus, manipulation of all monies received during that period may have been related to the concealment of any tainted money — money, that is, received in return for obstructing the Independent Counsel’s Wfiiitewater investigation. Panel Op. at 15-18. ■ In the face of these circumstances, I disagree with the dissent’s conclusion that the Independent Counsel’s failure to bring an indictment on the hush money allegations, either first or contemporaneous with the tax violations, means that no “credible evidence” of any wrongdoing exists. Dissenting Opinion (“Diss. Op.”) at 594-595.
The simple fact that no prior or simultaneous indictment for obstruction' was brought down specifically alleging that monies were received as a quid 'pro quo for noncooperation in the main Whitewater mat*586ter does not compel a conclusion that the tax evasion and asset concealment charges are not related to the original subject matter. It would, in my view, be unreasonable to require the Independent Counsel to bring authorized prosecutions in any special order or sequence provided that they are undertaken and continued only so long as the “relatedness” requirement remains satisfied. I believe such a standard may be inferable from the panel opinion, Panel Op. at 18, but I wish to make clear here my own view that at the point that the Independent Counsel is no longer diligently pursuing his investigation of the main allegation that money was channeled to Hubbell for noncooperation or misleading testimony, with a reasonable expectation that it will prove fruitful, the other ancillary claims of manipulation or failure to report taxes cease to be “demonstrably related” to the original mandate. It is not enough that the Independent Counsel could at one time state a reasonable belief that the underlying obstruction allegations were true. In my view, the underlying investigation into the hush money charge must have been ongoing, and there must have been credible evidence that the underlying offense did indeed occur at the time the ancillary indictment was filed. To the extent that prosecution for the obstruction offense was not practicable at the time of the tax indictments, whether because the main investigation had yet to be completed, or because the Independent Counsel believed that eviden-tiary problems limited the prospects of ob-taming a conviction on the obstruction offense at that moment, the Independent Counsel would still have jurisdiction over the ancillary charges, provided that credible evidence remained to substantiate its belief that the obstruction crime had been committed. However, if at some point during the investigation it becomes apparent that this belief is unfounded, then at that time the ancillary counts should be passed over to the Justice Department to screen and, if appropriate, to prosecute. That does not, however, appear to be the case here — we were assured at oral argument by the Independent Counsel himself that the main hush money investigation was not closed, and if there is any reason to believe that it is a dead letter at the time the indictment for ancillary tax matters was brought (or even when it is reinstated on remand here), then a hearing (m camera if necessary) by the district judge on the issue would be appropriate. But assuming, as we must on the record before us, that the principal investigation into possible obstruction was alive at the time the ancillary tax indictments were brought and remains so, I cannot but conclude that the tax indictments were related to the main endeavor for the reasons set out in the panel opinion.1 Panel Op. at 15-18.
Finally, while I do believe that some deference is due the Special Division’s interpretation of these prosecutions as related to the original one, I would not find it necessary under the facts here to decide if the appro*587priate level of deference is substantial, Panel Op. at 7, or only due deference. I do not find the agency analogy particularly persuasive, but on the other hand I believe that the responsibilities of the Special Division under the statute to define the Independent Counsel’s jurisdiction initially, and subsequently to assess requests for the referral of related matters, strongly militate toward some deference; the degree of deference due will likely depend on the circumstances of each case. The extent of that deference might shift according to whether the Special Division’s relatedness determination is grounded particularly on facts made known to it by the Independent Counsel or the Attorney General or on a legal or conceptual conclusion that the offenses or persons are sufficiently related to the original mandate. At any rate, I think the relatedness requirement is satisfied here under either standard of deference.

. Although the dissent challenges the notion that these tax evasion indictments would have been proper even if there had been a simultaneous prosecution for taking hush money, but see Oral Arg. Tr. at 41, 43-44 (defense counsel endorsing simultaneous prosecution), I do not see how that argument can be maintained. The original mandate, as required by 28 U.S.C. § 593(b)(3), granted the Independent Counsel jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute obstruction of its primary investigation. When inquiring into whether Hubbell had received hush money in return for noncooperation, the Independent Counsel had jurisdiction to investigate the likely concealment of any such payments. As tax evasion constitutes a logical part of any effort to evade the detection of illicit funds, the Independent Counsel legitimately focused his attention in that direction. Whatever Hubbell's subjective motivation for not reporting income might have been, tax evasion is an inherently concealing activity. To the extent that Hubbell failed to report consulting fees alleged to be hush money, he obstructed the obstruction investigation. Provided that the underlying investigation was still actively being pursued, the Independent Counsel accordingly had jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute Hubbell’s acts of concealment.
The dissent suggests, however, that this court, in order to assure that the Independent Counsel’s investigation had actually unearthed evidence of obstruction, should have taken up the Independent Counsel’s proffer to view evidence relating to the "hush money” allegations in camera. Diss. Op. at 595. Aside from the fact that one of the defense counsel explicitly denounced such a course at oral argument, see Oral Arg. Tr. at 41, that inquiry would be more appropriately conducted by the district court when adjudicating a motion to dismiss the indictment for unrelatedness on this ground.