Inspector General

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Report on FBI Debunks Jan. 6 Conspiracy Theories

Inspector general has criticisms of agency but found no evidence agents provoked Capitol riot

(Newser) - A report released Thursday by the Justice Department's inspector general says investigators discovered no reason to believe law enforcement did anything to provoke or encourage the attack on the US Capitol—a conspiracy theory long promoted by allies of President-elect Trump. "We found no evidence in the materials...

Watchdog: Epstein's Final Phone Call Went Unmonitored

Report describes multiple jail failures that led to sex trafficker's 2019 suicide

(Newser) - "Negligence, misconduct, and outright job performance failures" at Manhattan's Metropolitan Correctional Center enabled Jeffrey Epstein's 2019 suicide, according to a Justice Department inspector general's report issued Tuesday. The report describes "staffing issues, faulty security camera setups, poor management and improper handling of inmates who could...

Watchdog: Engineers Urged Grounding 737 Max Faster

Inspector general's report says FAA bosses wanted more data

(Newser) - The Federal Aviation Administration rejected the recommendation of engineers to immediately ground Boeing's 737 Max after two fatal crashes, preferring to wait for more data, a new inspector general's report says. It was March 13, 2019, three days after the second crash, before the airliner was grounded, CNN...

Jan. 6 Inquiry: DHS Has Had 24 Secret Service Phones for 2 Months

They went to DHS Inspector General, who's been accused of a lack of transparency: report

(Newser) - Secret Service leadership confiscated the cellphones of 24 agents involved in the response to the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, and gave them to the Department of Homeland Security's inspector general up to two months ago, reports NBC News . The phones were handed over to Inspector General Joseph...

Secret Service Under Criminal Investigation

Inspector general tells agency to stop its own search for deleted texts

(Newser) - A government watchdog has informed the Secret Service that it's under criminal investigation over its deletion of text messages agents sent around the time of the attack on the Capitol. Because of that, the service was told it should shut down its internal investigation, the Washington Post reports. "...

IG: Ross Misled Congress but Won't Face Charges

Justice Department doesn't explain decision on census testimony case

(Newser) - Although an inspector general's report found that he misled Congress about the Trump administration's attempt to put a citizenship question in the census, former Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross won't face any charges. "Our investigation established that the then-Secretary misrepresented the full rationale for the reinstatement of...

Pompeos Broke Ethics Rules With Personal Tasks: Report
Watchdog: Pompeo
Broke Ethics Rules
Apr 16, 2021 5:05 PM CDT

Watchdog: Pompeo Broke Ethics Rules

Staff members were asked to pick up the dog and make salon appointments, report says

(Newser) - More than 100 times, Mike Pompeo or his wife, Susan, asked State Department employees to handle errands and personal tasks for them, such as booking salon appointments and picking up the family dog. The former secretary of state told investigators the requests were minor, the sort of things friends do...

Watchdog Mostly Clears Travel by Susan Pompeo

Six of the eight trips weren't properly approved, report says

(Newser) - An independent probe into the travel of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's wife has concluded that the trips with her husband on official business did not violate federal ethics rules. But, in a report released Thursday, the department's acting inspector general, Matthew Klimow, also determined that the State...

State Department's New Watchdog Quits

Stephen Akard's departure follows predecessor's abrupt firing

(Newser) - The State Department’s acting inspector general resigned abruptly on Wednesday following the firing of his predecessor in circumstances now being investigated by Congress. Stephen Akard announced his resignation just two days after Democrats issued subpoenas for several of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's top aides to answer questions...

Watchdog in Trump's Sights Resigns Post

Glenn Fine will leave his Pentagon post as deputy inspector general

(Newser) - One of the government watchdogs recently stripped of authority by President Trump is leaving his job entirely. Glenn Fine is resigning his post as deputy inspector general of the Pentagon, reports CNN . Fine was in the news last month , though not for his Pentagon work. He had been placed in...

Report: Congressional Committees Looking Into Pompeo Dinners

NBC: Taxpayer-funded 'Madison Dinners' hosted by Pompeo are now under scrutiny

(Newser) - The State Department inspector general who was abruptly fired on Friday may have been aware of fancy dinners hosted by Mike Pompeo and his wife on the taxpayer's dime. That’s according to NBC News , which reports Steve Linick last week made "some type of inquiry" to the...

Democrats See 'Troubling' Saudi Link in Watchdog's Firing

Steve Linick was investigating decision to allow arms sales

(Newser) - State Department Inspector General Steve Linick was looking into a lot more than dog-walking and errand-running when he was abruptly fired on Friday, House Democrats say. Lawmakers have confirmed that the watchdog's other investigations included a probe of President Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's decision last...

Democrats Launch Inquiry Into Latest Trump Firing

President fired State Department inspector general, reportedly at Pompeo's urging

(Newser) - Late Friday, President Trump fired the State Department's inspector general . By Saturday, the New York Times reports, Democrats in the House and Senate had started an investigation into Steve Linick's dismissal. In a letter informing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Trump wrote only that he'd lost confidence in...

HHS Found a Supply Shortage. 'It's Wrong,' Trump Says

Problems build on each other at hospitals, inspector general reports

(Newser) - The nonpartisan inspector general's office in the Department of Health and Human Services called 323 hospitals to see if they have enough supplies to care for their COVID-19 patients. They don't, says the report, which lists severe shortages. Asked about the report in his press briefing Monday, President...

He Defied Trump on Ukraine Complaint. Now, a Dismissal

President Trump has fired Intelligence Community IG Michael Atkinson

(Newser) - He alerted Congress to an intel official's complaint about Trump's July 25 phone call to the Ukrainian president, which jump-started the probe that led to the president's impeachment. Now, Michael Atkinson, the inspector general of the Intelligence Community, is out of a job. Politico , the AP , and...

Watchdog Has Good News, Bad News for Trump on FBI

Russia investigation seen as justified, but agency is ripped for serious errors

(Newser) - A report by the Justice Department's inspector general about the FBI's investigation into possible collusion between the Trump 2016 campaign and Russia delivers both good and bad news for the president. Key findings from the report (read it in full here ) by IG Michael Horowitz:
  • Justified: Horowitz
...

DOJ Watchdog Wraps Up 'Damning' Comey Report

But Justice Department prosecutors have declined to prosecute

(Newser) - Looks like a Justice Dept report about James Comey won't be too flattering but won't lead to criminal prosecution, either. The DOJ's top watchdog is finishing a report that will probably conclude the former FBI director leaked classified data and kept information from his agents, insiders tell...

FBI Agent Axed Over Trump Texts Says He'd Testify

Donald Trump was not thrilled with Peter Strzok's announcement

(Newser) - The FBI agent who was nixed from the Mueller probe team over texts that disparaged President Trump says he's willing to testify about his side of the story. Per the AP , a lawyer for Peter Strzok told House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte in a letter Sunday that his...

FBI Agent: 'We'll Stop' Trump's Election

The inspector general found the agent was willing to intervene in election

(Newser) - An FBI investigator who worked on probes into Hillary Clinton's emails and into Russian interference in the 2016 election told an FBI lawyer "we'll stop" Donald Trump from becoming president. Per the AP , the new inflammatory texts between Peter Strzok and FBI lawyer Lisa Page are...

Watchdog: Comey Handled Clinton Email Mess Poorly

But the report says the former FBI chief wasn't motivated by political bias

(Newser) - A much-anticipated report by the Justice Department's inspector general says James Comey mishandled the Hillary Clinton email controversy in the waning days of the 2016 election, reports Bloomberg . However, the report by Michael Horowitz may disappoint supporters of President Trump by concluding that the former FBI chief wasn't...

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