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---
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category: "Law Enforcement & Legal"
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created: 2024-04-25
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updated: 2026-10-09
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updated: 2026-10-15
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tags:
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- Person
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- PROMIS
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@ -207,25 +207,25 @@ Danny Casolaro, a self-styled free-lance author and investigative reporter, inve
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The report found "nothing unusual" in DOJ's decision not to investigate a private citizen's death, which it described as a state or local matter. It found no evidence of federal government influence on the local investigation. "[T]he physical evidence in Casolaro's hotel room strongly supports the conclusion of the local authorities that the death was a suicide." That evidence included no sign of forced entry or struggle, a note found in the room, and the absence of footprints or other evidence that others were present when the wrists were slashed.[^83] The tests and analyses cited were handwriting analysis confirming that Casolaro wrote the note; fingerprint analysis finding his prints and no others except a single print on an ash tray; hair and fiber analysis; a blood analysis by Dr. Lee of the Connecticut State Police Forensic Science Laboratory consistent with suicide; and an autopsy that found hemorrhage from the wrist wounds as the cause of death and no evidence that he was unconscious or debilitated when cut.[^84]
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The report stated, as the fifth of its points, that "there was ample reason to believe Casolaro had a motive to commit suicide." It noted that he had been unemployed for months, was dependent on financial assistance from his family, faced a balloon mortgage on his home, and had been told shortly before his death by a prospective publisher that it would not advance him any money on his proposed book about the "Octopus."[^85] The report also noted that [[James E. Starr]], a professor of law and forensic sciences at George Washington University, reportedly reached the same opinion in an independent review of the autopsy. It addressed criticisms that the room was not sealed, that notification of next of kin was delayed while the body was embalmed, and that Martinsburg authorities gave insufficient weight to suspicions about Casolaro's "sources," and stated that "no credible evidence suggested that any of Casolaro's 'sources' played any role in his death."[^86]
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The report stated, as the fifth of its points, that "there was ample reason to believe Casolaro had a motive to commit suicide." It noted that he had been unemployed for months, was dependent on financial assistance from his family, faced a balloon mortgage on his home, and had been told shortly before his death by a prospective publisher that it would not advance him any money on his proposed book about the "Octopus."[^85] The report also noted that [[James E. Starrs]], a professor of law and forensic sciences at [[George Washington University]], reportedly reached the same opinion in an independent review of the autopsy.[^86] It addressed criticisms that the room was not sealed, that notification of next of kin was delayed while the body was embalmed, and that Martinsburg authorities gave insufficient weight to suspicions about Casolaro's "sources," and stated that "no credible evidence suggested that any of Casolaro's 'sources' played any role in his death."[^87]
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### House Judiciary Committee report, 1992
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The House Committee on the Judiciary issued "The INSLAW Affair" as House Report 102-857 on September 10, 1992, under Chairman [[Jack Brooks]].[^87] The committee's report described the Department's handling of the matter in terms that stand against the Bua report's conclusions. It wrote that Attorneys General Meese and [[Dick Thornburgh]] "blocked or restricted congressional inquiries into the matter, ignored the findings of two courts and refused to ask for the appointment of an independent counsel."[^8]
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The House Committee on the Judiciary issued "The INSLAW Affair" as House Report 102-857 on September 10, 1992, under Chairman [[Jack Brooks]].[^88] The committee's report described the Department's handling of the matter in terms that stand against the Bua report's conclusions. It wrote that Attorneys General Meese and [[Dick Thornburgh]] "blocked or restricted congressional inquiries into the matter, ignored the findings of two courts and refused to ask for the appointment of an independent counsel."[^8]
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The committee wrote that it had "no reason to doubt the commitment of Judge Bua or Attorney General Barr to do a thorough investigation of this matter," but that "as long as the investigation of wrongdoing by former and current high level Justice officials remains under the control of the Department, there will always be serious doubt about the objectivity and thoroughness of the work." The committee's position was that "the only way the INSLAW allegations can be adequately and fully investigated is by the appointment of an independent counsel," and that the independent counsel should investigate all matters related to the allegations, "including Mr. Casolaro's death and its possible link to individuals associated with organized crime."[^8] On Casolaro, the committee wrote that it had not included the death in its formal investigation, that local authorities had ruled it a suicide a second time on January 25, 1992, after more than 1,000 man-hours, and that the controversy continued to be discussed in the press and the Martinsburg Police Department's investigation had been criticized.[^88]
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The committee wrote that it had "no reason to doubt the commitment of Judge Bua or Attorney General Barr to do a thorough investigation of this matter," but that "as long as the investigation of wrongdoing by former and current high level Justice officials remains under the control of the Department, there will always be serious doubt about the objectivity and thoroughness of the work." The committee's position was that "the only way the INSLAW allegations can be adequately and fully investigated is by the appointment of an independent counsel," and that the independent counsel should investigate all matters related to the allegations, "including Mr. Casolaro's death and its possible link to individuals associated with organized crime."[^8] On Casolaro, the committee wrote that it had not included the death in its formal investigation, that local authorities had ruled it a suicide a second time on January 25, 1992, after more than 1,000 man-hours, and that the controversy continued to be discussed in the press and the Martinsburg Police Department's investigation had been criticized.[^89]
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### DOJ review, September 1994
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Reno ordered a senior-level Justice Department review of Bua's report and of INSLAW's analysis of it, including INSLAW's July 12, 1993, "Analysis and Rebuttal of the Bua Report" and its February 14, 1994, Addendum. The review was issued on September 27, 1994, with the Bua report attached as Addendum A.[^89] Its summary recommended that the Attorney General "adopt the Special Counsel's report in its entirety," along with specified conclusions that the review described as "fully supported by the available evidence."[^90]
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Reno ordered a senior-level Justice Department review of Bua's report and of INSLAW's analysis of it, including INSLAW's July 12, 1993, "Analysis and Rebuttal of the Bua Report" and its February 14, 1994, Addendum. The review was issued on September 27, 1994, with the Bua report attached as Addendum A.[^90] Its summary recommended that the Attorney General "adopt the Special Counsel's report in its entirety," along with specified conclusions that the review described as "fully supported by the available evidence."[^91]
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The review restated that there was no credible evidence of a conspiracy with anyone to steal PROMIS or to injure Inslaw. It found no credible evidence that the [[Office of Special Investigations]] was engaged in covert intelligence activities, in illegal trafficking of PROMIS software, or in the death of Casolaro. It stated that the Martinsburg conclusion that Casolaro's death was a suicide "is fully supported by the facts surrounding his death," and that there was "no credible evidence that Mr. Casolaro was murdered."[^90] The review devoted pp. 107 to 168 to Casolaro's death, covering the death scene, hotel employees, coroner, embalming, notification of next of kin, autopsy, further police investigation and the review's own interviews.[^91]
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The review restated that there was no credible evidence of a conspiracy with anyone to steal PROMIS or to injure Inslaw. It found no credible evidence that the [[Office of Special Investigations]] was engaged in covert intelligence activities, in illegal trafficking of PROMIS software, or in the death of Casolaro. It stated that the Martinsburg conclusion that Casolaro's death was a suicide "is fully supported by the facts surrounding his death," and that there was "no credible evidence that Mr. Casolaro was murdered."[^91] The review devoted pp. 107 to 168 to Casolaro's death, covering the death scene, hotel employees, coroner, embalming, notification of next of kin, autopsy, further police investigation and the review's own interviews.[^92]
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The review found "no basis for the appointment of an independent prosecutor" and recommended against waiving statutory time bars on INSLAW's monetary claims. It recommended that the Attorney General "take those steps necessary to bring this entire affair to closure from the Department's perspective," and wrote that the Special Counsel concluded, and the review concurred, that virtually all of the allegations "were based on nothing more than uncorroborated conjecture, on hearsay information from anonymous sources or on information received from patently unreliable sources."[^92]
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The review found "no basis for the appointment of an independent prosecutor" and recommended against waiving statutory time bars on INSLAW's monetary claims. It recommended that the Attorney General "take those steps necessary to bring this entire affair to closure from the Department's perspective," and wrote that the Special Counsel concluded, and the review concurred, that virtually all of the allegations "were based on nothing more than uncorroborated conjecture, on hearsay information from anonymous sources or on information received from patently unreliable sources."[^93]
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On the Johnson contact, the review wrote that Johnson had at first failed to recall the contact with Lamberth. It stated that Lamberth had already been nominated to the federal bench when he was sworn in on November 16, 1987, and it concurred "with the opinion of the Special Counsel that there is no evidence of any effort by the Justice Department to improperly influence the bankruptcy judge selection process."[^93]
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On the Johnson contact, the review wrote that Johnson had at first failed to recall the contact with Lamberth. It stated that Lamberth had already been nominated to the federal bench when he was sworn in on November 16, 1987, and it concurred "with the opinion of the Special Counsel that there is no evidence of any effort by the Justice Department to improperly influence the bankruptcy judge selection process."[^94]
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On May 3, 1995, by S. Res. 114, the Senate referred S. 740, a bill for the relief of INSLAW, to the Chief Judge of the Court of Federal Claims as Congressional Reference No. 95-338X, and Hearing Officer [[Christine Odell Cook Miller|Christine Cook Miller]] described the two Justice Department inquiries as the "Bua and Dwyer investigations": Bua's investigation on behalf of Barr, and a second investigation, in response to INSLAW's criticisms of Bua's report, that Reno asked the Assistant Associate Attorney General to undertake.[^44] Miller's report of July 31, 1997, was reviewed by a panel of the court, whose report is dated May 11, 1998.[^94]
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On May 3, 1995, by S. Res. 114, the Senate referred S. 740, a bill for the relief of INSLAW, to the Chief Judge of the Court of Federal Claims as Congressional Reference No. 95-338X, and Hearing Officer [[Christine Odell Cook Miller|Christine Cook Miller]] described the two Justice Department inquiries as the "Bua and Dwyer investigations": Bua's investigation on behalf of Barr, and a second investigation, in response to INSLAW's criticisms of Bua's report, that Reno asked the Assistant Associate Attorney General to undertake.[^44] Miller's report of July 31, 1997, was reviewed by a panel of the court, whose report is dated May 11, 1998.[^95]
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### Footnotes
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@ -314,12 +314,13 @@ On May 3, 1995, by S. Res. 114, the Senate referred S. 740, a bill for the relie
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[^83]: U.S. Department of Justice. *Report of Special Counsel Nicholas J. Bua to the Attorney General of the United States Regarding the Allegations of Inslaw, Inc.* March 1993, p. 247. https://archive.org/details/doj-oip-inslaw-1993
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[^84]: U.S. Department of Justice. *Report of Special Counsel Nicholas J. Bua to the Attorney General of the United States Regarding the Allegations of Inslaw, Inc.* March 1993, pp. 247-248. https://archive.org/details/doj-oip-inslaw-1993
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[^85]: U.S. Department of Justice. *Report of Special Counsel Nicholas J. Bua to the Attorney General of the United States Regarding the Allegations of Inslaw, Inc.* March 1993, p. 248. https://archive.org/details/doj-oip-inslaw-1993
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[^86]: U.S. Department of Justice. *Report of Special Counsel Nicholas J. Bua to the Attorney General of the United States Regarding the Allegations of Inslaw, Inc.* March 1993, pp. 249-250. https://archive.org/details/doj-oip-inslaw-1993
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[^87]: U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary. *The INSLAW Affair.* H. Rept. 102-857, 102d Cong., 2d sess., September 10, 1992, title page.
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[^88]: U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary. *The INSLAW Affair.* H. Rept. 102-857, 102d Cong., 2d sess., September 10, 1992, pp. 69-72, Part IV.C.1.
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[^89]: U.S. Department of Justice. *Report of the United States Department of Justice on the Review of Special Counsel Nicholas J. Bua's Report on the Allegations of INSLAW, Inc.* September 27, 1994, pp. 1-4. https://archive.org/details/doj-oip-inslaw-1993
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[^90]: U.S. Department of Justice. *Report of the United States Department of Justice on the Review of Special Counsel Nicholas J. Bua's Report on the Allegations of INSLAW, Inc.* September 27, 1994, pp. 7-9, III. Summary of Conclusions and Recommendations. https://archive.org/details/doj-oip-inslaw-1993
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[^91]: U.S. Department of Justice. *Report of the United States Department of Justice on the Review of Special Counsel Nicholas J. Bua's Report on the Allegations of INSLAW, Inc.* September 27, 1994, pp. 107-168, V. The Weight of the Evidence Indicates That J. Daniel Casolaro Committed Suicide. https://archive.org/details/doj-oip-inslaw-1993
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[^92]: U.S. Department of Justice. *Report of the United States Department of Justice on the Review of Special Counsel Nicholas J. Bua's Report on the Allegations of INSLAW, Inc.* September 27, 1994, pp. 9-10, III. Summary of Conclusions and Recommendations. https://archive.org/details/doj-oip-inslaw-1993
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[^93]: U.S. Department of Justice. *Report of the United States Department of Justice on the Review of Special Counsel Nicholas J. Bua's Report on the Allegations of INSLAW, Inc.* September 27, 1994, pp. 101-102. https://archive.org/details/doj-oip-inslaw-1993
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[^94]: U.S. Court of Federal Claims. *INSLAW, Inc. v. United States*, No. 95-338X, Report of the Review Panel, May 11, 1998, 40 Fed. Cl. 843. https://static.case.law/fed-cl/40/cases/0843-01.json
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[^86]: U.S. Department of Justice, *Report of Special Counsel Nicholas J. Bua to the Attorney General of the United States Regarding the Allegations of Inslaw, Inc.*, March 1993, p. 126 note 4, naming "Professor James E. Starrs, a noted forensic pathology expert at the George Washington University law school" (citing *Washington Business Journal*, November 9-15, 1992, p. 13); the conclusion at pp. 248-250 prints the surname as "Starr." https://archive.org/details/doj-oip-inslaw-1993
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[^87]: U.S. Department of Justice. *Report of Special Counsel Nicholas J. Bua to the Attorney General of the United States Regarding the Allegations of Inslaw, Inc.* March 1993, pp. 249-250. https://archive.org/details/doj-oip-inslaw-1993
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[^88]: U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary. *The INSLAW Affair.* H. Rept. 102-857, 102d Cong., 2d sess., September 10, 1992, title page.
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[^89]: U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary. *The INSLAW Affair.* H. Rept. 102-857, 102d Cong., 2d sess., September 10, 1992, pp. 69-72, Part IV.C.1.
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[^90]: U.S. Department of Justice. *Report of the United States Department of Justice on the Review of Special Counsel Nicholas J. Bua's Report on the Allegations of INSLAW, Inc.* September 27, 1994, pp. 1-4. https://archive.org/details/doj-oip-inslaw-1993
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[^91]: U.S. Department of Justice. *Report of the United States Department of Justice on the Review of Special Counsel Nicholas J. Bua's Report on the Allegations of INSLAW, Inc.* September 27, 1994, pp. 7-9, III. Summary of Conclusions and Recommendations. https://archive.org/details/doj-oip-inslaw-1993
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[^92]: U.S. Department of Justice. *Report of the United States Department of Justice on the Review of Special Counsel Nicholas J. Bua's Report on the Allegations of INSLAW, Inc.* September 27, 1994, pp. 107-168, V. The Weight of the Evidence Indicates That J. Daniel Casolaro Committed Suicide. https://archive.org/details/doj-oip-inslaw-1993
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[^93]: U.S. Department of Justice. *Report of the United States Department of Justice on the Review of Special Counsel Nicholas J. Bua's Report on the Allegations of INSLAW, Inc.* September 27, 1994, pp. 9-10, III. Summary of Conclusions and Recommendations. https://archive.org/details/doj-oip-inslaw-1993
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[^94]: U.S. Department of Justice. *Report of the United States Department of Justice on the Review of Special Counsel Nicholas J. Bua's Report on the Allegations of INSLAW, Inc.* September 27, 1994, pp. 101-102. https://archive.org/details/doj-oip-inslaw-1993
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[^95]: U.S. Court of Federal Claims. *INSLAW, Inc. v. United States*, No. 95-338X, Report of the Review Panel, May 11, 1998, 40 Fed. Cl. 843. https://static.case.law/fed-cl/40/cases/0843-01.json
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