Investigation Comes To An End

Ron Brown’s death brought an immediate halt Thursday to a special prosecutor’s investigation into his financial affairs. Independent Counsel Daniel Pearson will decide soon whether to turn the remainder of the probe over to a law enforcement agency.

Legal experts said the late commerce secretary’s family most likely is entitled to have the government pick up his attorney bills under the independent counsel law.

“The covered person has tragically died. And common sense, decency and really the intent of the statute mandates that you wrap it up … and pay his legal bills,” said E. Lawrence Barcella, a prominent defense attorney who has represented people in other independent counsel probes.

Pearson’s office announced Thursday that the year-old investigation into Brown’s tangled financial dealings “is concluded with his death.”