The Nation: The Big Showdown over Banker Bert

A promise of neither a witch hunt nor a whitewash

Without even a building to call its own, ;he Comptroller of the Currency's office is a federal backwater, responsible only for the important but dull job of regulating the 4,600 national banks. Suddenly, the comptroller's quarters at the L'Enfant Plaza hotel are among the busiest in Washington, as U.S. bank examiners press their potentially explosive investigation of Bert Lance's financial affairs. The comptroller's lengthy report is due soon, perhaps this week, and could save or squash the powerful budget director, who is Jimmy Carter's old pal, former creditor and longtime close confidant....

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