In a last-ditch maneuver to block an independent investigation into Iraqgate, Attorney General William Barr has hired a so-called "special" counsel. But the man lending his good reputation to this subterfuge can be fired by the very Attorney General he is supposed to investigate.

Why does the Coverup-General resist independent investigation? Because he knows where it may lead: to Dick Thornburgh, James Baker, Clayton Yeutter, Brent Scowcroft and himself. He vainly hopes to be able to head it off, or at least be able to use the threat of firing to negotiate a deal.

The last time Mr. Barr refused to ask the courts to appoint an independent prosecutor was when formally requested to do so by the majority of the House Judiciary Committee. Chairman Jack Brooks huffed and puffed, but despite the urging of House Banking chairman Henry Gonzalez, flinched from impeaching the Attorney General.

Now the matter is in the Senate, which will not be as easily pushed around. The chairman of the Intelligence Committee, David Boren, caught the C.I.A. red-handed in misleading a Federal court in Atlanta about the Government's knowledge of high-level wrongdoing. Panicked C.I.A. lawyers said, "Justice made us do it."