Read on Twitter
The Pentagon’s deputy inspector general Glenn Fine resigned today.
Last month, Pres Trump removed Fine as chairman of the committee overseeing $2 trillion in emergency Covid-19 funds.
IGs are under siege. Why does this matter? Here’s the history & importance of IGs. 1/
Last month, Pres Trump removed Fine as chairman of the committee overseeing $2 trillion in emergency Covid-19 funds.
IGs are under siege. Why does this matter? Here’s the history & importance of IGs. 1/
IGs were installed in the aftermath of the Watergate scandal when the public’s trust in government dropped. Jimmy Carter signed the Inspector General Act into law in 1978 & installed 12 IGs to provide oversight of each agency of the executive branch. 2/
https://oig.ssa.gov/newsroom/blog/oct11-ig-act-anniversary
https://oig.ssa.gov/newsroom/blog/oct11-ig-act-anniversary
Lawmakers hoped these watchdogs would prevent corruption. If IGs suspected wrongdoing, they would report it to the head of the agency and the head was required to forward it to Congress within 7 days. 3/
Over the ensuing decades, the original 12 IGs expanded into dozens across the federal government and IGs today oversee 14,000 auditors and investigators. By investigating operations, spending, and even criminal activity, IG reports have exposed major scandals. 4/
Enter President Trump. In the past 2 months, Trump has fired 5 Inspectors General (including acting IGs). 5/
Michael Atkinson was the Intelligence Community IG who received the whistleblower complaint about Trump’s phone call with Ukrainian President Zelensky & disclosed it to Congress. 6/
This helped initiate the impeachment inquiry. Trump dismissed Atkinson on April 3. 7/ https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/23/politics/ic-ig-michael-atkinson-whistleblower-complaint/index.html
Just 4 days later (April 7), Trump removed Defense Department IG Glenn Fine. Fine had recently been appointed to head a committee to oversee how $2 trillion in coronavirus relief funds were distributed. 8/ https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/07/us/politics/trump-coronavirus-watchdog-glenn-fine.html
Trump nominated Jason Weida to replace Department of Health and Human Services IG Christi Grimm on May 1. The HHS IG Office had recently released a report documenting critical shortages of medical staff and supplies as the pandemic spread globally. 9/ https://oig.hhs.gov/oei/reports/oei-06-20-00300.asp
May 15, Trump dismissed State Dept IG Steve Linick, who was investigating Mike Pompeo for allegedly having an employee do personal tasks for him and his wife, Susan Pompeo. 10/ https://abcnews.go.com/US/trump-fires-ig-investigating-pompeo-involved-impeachment-probe/story?id=70718001
Linick was also looking into Trump’s use of an emergency declaration to authorize weapon sales to Saudi Arabia in 2019. 11/ https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/18/us/politics/pompeo-trump-linick-inspector-general-firing.html
The same day, Trump dismissed DOT acting IG Mitchell Behm. Behm was potentially investigating Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, wife of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. 12/ https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/20/politics/transportation-inspector-general/index.html
This slew of IG firings is flagrantly intended by the Trump administration to avoid oversight and anti-corruption efforts. As the nation combats a pandemic, Trump’s authoritarian purges are especially troubling as he replaces the IGs with loyalists. 13/ https://www.americanoversight.org/another-friday-night-inspector-general-firing
In 2 months, Trump replaced 5 career investigators with appointees that seemed more loyal to him. In 3 instances, the new IGs are senior officials at the same agency they are supposed to oversee. 14/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/as-trump-removes-federal-watchdogs-some-loyalists-replacing-them-have-extensive-conflicts/2020/05/24/8dad46a4-9b89-11ea-a2b3-5c3f2d1586df_story.html
Take, for instance, Howard “Skip” Elliott, who is now serving as the Transportation Department IG while heading DOT’s pipeline and hazardous materials agency. He is running an office charged with investigating his own agency and actions. 15/
This is just one instance of how President Trump is undermining watchdogs and installing allies to protect himself from oversight. This is especially important because watchdogs are vital to understand the government’s coronavirus pandemic response. 16/
As @POGOBlog executive director @daniellebrian wrote: “Inspectors general will be crucial for investigating and assessing agencies’ response to this crisis.” 17/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/05/20/congress-is-overdue-ensuring-oversight/
Trump’s efforts to shirk oversight are deeply alarming, and American Oversight will continue its work of holding the administration accountable. 18/
Last week, we requested expedited processing of our #FOIA’s that could shed a light on any potential misconduct by Pompeo at State. 19/ https://www.americanoversight.org/american-oversight-requests-expedition-of-requests-for-records-of-pompeo-complaints
To date, we’ve filed over 550 records requests to investigate the federal government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. 20/ https://www.americanoversight.org/investigation/the-trump-administrations-response-to-coronavirus
Beyond inspectors general, we’re continuing to file #FOIAs and sue for documents to investigate the subversion of justice at the Justice Department. 21/ https://www.americanoversight.org/news-roundup-the-subversion-of-justice-at-the-justice-department
