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News of Trump removing Glenn Fine as Acting DoD IG and from the coronavirus oversight committee has reminded people about the importance of independent IGs. But Trump’s assault on the #InspectorGeneral community actually began with Fine three years ago. /1 https://www.citizensforethics.org/glenn-fine-coronavirus-accountablility-attack/
In early 2017 Trump withdrew the names of four #InspectorGeneral nominees from Senate consideration. One of them was Acting DoD IG Glenn Fine who was previously confirmed as DOJ IG, serving in the Clinton, Bush, and Obama administrations. /2 https://federalnewsnetwork.com/management/2017/03/trump-withdraws-nominations-osc-chief-four-igs/
Another name Trump withdrew in 2017 was Elizabeth Field to be #InspectorGeneral of the Office of Personnel Management. That position is still vacant. OPM is now in disarray with two Trump appointed directors leaving after less than a year on the job. /3 https://federalnewsnetwork.com/opm/2020/03/cabaniss-resigns-as-opm-director/
Following Trump’s withdrawal of these IG candidates, in April 2017, my then boss @clairecmc led a bipartisan Senate letter requesting that Trump prioritize filling #InspectorGeneral vacancies across the government. /4 https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/media/minority-media/mccaskill-johnson-lead-bipartisan-group-of-senators-urging-trump-administration-to-quickly-nominate-watchdogs
Then in October 2017, Trump nominated Gail Ennis to serve as an independent #InspectorGeneral at the Social Security Administration after she made numerous donations to his 2016 campaign and re-election effort. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/president-donald-j-trump-announces-intent-nominate-personnel-key-administration-posts-22/
In July 2018, Trump’s poorly vetted nominee to serve as CIA #InspectorGeneral was forced to withdraw after allegations of his whistleblower retaliation became public. /6 https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/20/politics/cia-watchdog-sharpley-withdraws-nomination/index.html
By August 2018, despite bipartisan prodding for Trump to fill #InspectorGeneral vacancies, @CREWcrew reported that there were 13 positions that require presidential appointment and senate confirmation still empty. /7 https://www.citizensforethics.org/trump-leaves-13-agency-watchdog-positions-unfilled/
In October 2018, Secretary Ben Carson announced that a Trump political appointee had been installed as the Interior #InspectorGeneral. After public uproar about this unusual and problematic choice, Suzanne Tufts resigned from government altogether. /8 https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060103553
Then in early 2019, the Trump administration was forced to do another about face after trying to replace the Acting #InspectorGeneral at the Department of Education with an agency lawyer. /9 https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/01/politics/white-house-education-department-inspector-general/index.html
Despite pressure from Congress and others, @CREWcrew found that by February 2019, Trump still allowed 12 #InspectorGeneral positions to remain vacant including at scandal plagued agencies like Interior. Some vacancies had lasted his entire presidency. /10 https://www.citizensforethics.org/12-inspector-general-vacancies/
In the summer of 2019, Trump appointed his former political donor Gail Ennis to serve as the Interior #InspectorGeneral at the same time while still juggling her responsibilities as Social Security Administration IG. /11 https://www.citizensforethics.org/interior-inspector-general-ennis-trump-donor/
Trump’s continued failure to appoint qualified and independent inspectors general led Senators Grassley and Hassan to send a letter to the President urging him to fill these #InspectorGeneral vacancies. /12 https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/subcommittees/fso/media/senators-hassan-grassley-urge-president-trump-to-swiftly-fill-critical-inspector-general-vacancies-to-help-root-out-waste-fraud-and-abuse
Because of Trump’s inaction, three months later, Senators Johnson and Peters sent another letter to Trump pleading with him to address #InspectorGeneral vacancies by nominating qualified candidates. /13 https://www.hstoday.us/subject-matter-areas/federal-government/hsgac-senators-urge-action-to-permanently-fill-vacant-inspector-general-positions/
But by the time the coronavirus outbreak was beginning in 2020, Trump still had critical #InspectorGeneral positions vacant including at the Departments of Health and Human Services and the Treasury, both on the front lines of coronavirus response. /14 https://www.citizensforethics.org/five-ig-vacancies-coronavirus-response/
And when Trump signed the coronavirus stimulus bill into law, he issued a statement claiming that he could gag the newly created pandemic recovery #InspectorGeneral from communicating with Congress about administration misconduct or obstruction. /15 https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/27/us/trump-signing-statement-coronavirus.html
Trump then confirmed his animus for independent oversight by firing Intelligence Community #InspectorGeneral Michael Atkinson, who first alerted Congress to the Ukraine whistleblower complaint that led to Trump’s #impeachment. /16 https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/06/opinion/atkinson-inspector-general-ukraine-fired.html
That same day, just last Friday, Trump announced five #InspectorGeneral picks including one of his WH impeachment lawyers to oversee Treasury’s stimulus funds, two political appointees, and one guy who has only been a licensed lawyer since 2011. /17 https://www.citizensforethics.org/trumps-firing-atkinson-independent-inspectors-general/
Which of course brings us back to yesterday when Trump unceremoniously ousted Glenn Fine as DoD acting #InspectorGeneral and from the pandemic recovery oversight team despite his experience & Republican support for his confirmation as DOJ IG in 2000. /18 https://www.citizensforethics.org/glenn-fine-coronavirus-accountablility-attack/
The President has always been hostile to independent oversight. Now he is purging the #InspectorGeneral community while we are dealing with a global pandemic. Yes democracy dies in darkness but it can also die in the light if we aren’t paying attention. https://www.axios.com/trump-purge-inspector-general-519c798e-f8d2-4de3-bd96-d9b663c1acde.html
