The Inspector General

by emptywheel

I noted the other day that Pat Leahy had sent a letter to Brad Schlozman asking for his overdue homework. What I didn't note in the post--but did in comments elsewhere--was the carbon copy line:

cc: The Honorable Alberto Gonzales
      The Honorable Glen Fine

In comments where I mentioned this, I suggested this reflected a belief on Leahy's part that the Inspector General was a co-participant in his effort to hold real investigations into the Bush Administration (as to the cc for Gonzales? Dunno--but that was the day before Gonzales resigned).

That suggestion is born out by the letter Fine sent to Leahy today, reassuring Leahy (or, more importantly, signaling to others) that the direction of his investigation includes an assessment of whether Alberto Gonzales perjured himself on multiple occasions.

This is in response to your letter to me, dated August 16, 2007, in which you requested that the Off!.ceof the Inspector General (OIG) investigate testimony provided by Attorney General Gonzales before the Senate Judiciary Committee on July 24, 2007, and in previous hearings before the Judiciary Committee and other congressional committees. In particular, you identified five issues and asked that we investigate whether the statements made by the Attorney General were intentionally false, misleading, or inappropriate.

The OIG has ongoing investigations that relate to most of the subjects addressed by the Attomey General's testimony that you identified. In particular, the OIG is conducting a review relating to the terrorist surveillance program, as well as a follow-up revieW of the use of national security letters. In addition, the OIG is conducting a joint investigation with the Department's Office of Professional Responsibility into allegations regarding the removal of
certain United States Attomeys and improper hiring practices.

We believe that through those investigations and other OLA reviews we will be able to assess most of the issues that you raise in your letter.

Trust me. Pat Leahy has been working with Fine behind the scenes.

What else to make of the to-do about the OIG's jurisdiction a month ago? Leahy went to the trouble of identifying and--presumably--rectifying a problem in the jurisdiction of DOJ's internal investigation system. And now Leahy continues to CC Fine on his correspondence to thuggish DOJ employees (or, thankfully in the case of Schlozman, former employees)--as if Fine was fully read into Leahy's investigations.

A friend of the blog sent me this timely profile of Fine.

Few among us are paid to tell the boss that he has screwed up. Still fewer get to do it with the whole world watching, in a politically charged atmosphere, when what’s at stake is the rule of law, and even, sometimes, the Constitution.

As the Department of Justice’s inspector general, Glenn A. Fine ’85 does just that.

While Congress and the White House spar over allegations of executive overreaching and unauthorized action by the Justice Department, Fine’s job is to monitor how well the nation’s top law enforcement agencies—and his own superiors at Main Justice—comply with the law.

[snip]

Fine is also playing a role in the department’s inquiry into the firing of eight U.S. attorneys, amidst allegations that the dismissals were politically motivated and engineered by the White House.

There has been an inspector general monitoring the actions of the Justice Department and its various law-enforcement agencies since 1989. But, says Fine, Sept. 11 probably made the position more prominent: “The Patriot Act gave a function to the IG of receiving and reviewing complaints of civil liberties abuses. With the added powers given to the department, there’s been an increase in the responsibilities given the Office of the Inspector General, and we have tried to fulfill those responsibilities as aggressively and fairly as we can.”

“We strive to be independent,” Fine says. “We also strive to earn the reputation of being tough but fair.”

As I said elsewhere today, before Fine's letter was announced, I've got a lot more faith in Fine than in Scott Bloch (not least because Fine can make criminal referrals). But the more the merrier, I say, if they're investigating the Bush Administration.

Comments

[nolo]

indeed -- well EW, you wrote everything
i should have written about this topic,
but actually didn't do much of a job
on -- at all -- now, having seen yours. . .

excellent -- as always. and i agree 100%.

this one may actually go somewhere.

[BlueStateRedhead]

Thanks EW. Can you tell us where those other comments are to be heard of read?

[Jodi]

There is always a thorough investigation.

Then the acquital.

Ok, Mr Libby is the exception. Man he will really pay the price won't he?

Well, whoa. Just forget that.

Ok, lets go back to Clinton. A thorough investigation. Then the acquital.

Doesn't everyone realize that the mighty in Government rarely pay the price.

It is like when the cops mess up the criminal investigation and actually break the law.

Everyone Walks!! Including the cops.

[Rayne]

Oh, I wondered for a second whether Fine had a beef with a fellow classmate, but I forgot that Gonzo was class of '82.

[Sparkles the Iguana]

Wasn't Mr. Patrick Fitzgerald also class of '85?

Dang, but some days it seems like everybody went to Harvard Law. They've really got to restrict admissions.

[Sparkles the Iguana]

Wait - the most astonishing thing in that article is that he was drafted by the San Antonio Spurs. Out of Harvard. In spite of being 5'9".

[radiofreewill]

I like what I see there!

That looks like a healthy law enforcement relationship between two honest public servants.

I would trust Fine's work to be honest and fair, and that gives me hope that the investigations that he lists in his letter to Leahy - the Program/TSP, the NSLs, the USA Firings, and Gonzo's alleged Perjury - will serve to reassure the Citizenry that we are right to trust the DoJ to police itself in accordance with the Rule of Law.

Add to this Whitehouse's potential bill to re-restrict the number of WH personnel who can speak to DoJ regarding pending criminal and civil matters - hopefully cutting down from the 400-plus level to closer to the Clinton-DoJ number of less than ten - and it looks like Legality might be coming back into fashion in DC!

Does this make Paul "Height of his powers" Clement, for now, the custodian of the integrity of our system of Law Enforcement - the Keeper of the Ring that would Rule US All?

[BlueStateRedhead]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/30/AR2007083000995.html?hpid=topnews

The WaPo has details on Fine's investigation of politicization of hiring, naming target names---never heard before and already gone ones in addition to Samson, BadGoodling and co.

They quote from the questionnaire that Fine is circulating among former DOJ applicants, questionnaires being sent to those who applied under Ashcroft.

Take a look-see.

[BlueStateRedhead]

Clarification:

They quote from the questionnaire that Fine is circulating among former DOJ applicants, questionnaires being sent to those who applied under Ashcroft, as well as, naturally under Gonzo Gonzo.

[DeeLoralei in Memphis]

So Fine is being proactive and trying to see what occured also during Ashcroft's tenancy of DoJ, can't be seen to be only looking in to Gonzo.

And O/T, Free Patriot, my best to you and your mother.....The odious Jodious typed, and well, I naturally thought of a nice decent sentient human being,...... bleach for the soul, if you will.

[babs sure gets around]

Budget Crunch Hits US Attorneys' Offices

Amid Antiterror Focus, Prosecutions Decline; Rep. Lewis Probe Slowed

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118852196664814175.html?mod=hpp_us_whats_news

In 2006, Los Angeles federal prosecutors were in the middle of a wide-ranging investigation of Rep. Lewis of California, who until January was chairman of the powerful House Appropriations Committee. He remains its senior Republican. The investigation focused on earmarks, or special spending measures, that benefited clients of a now-defunct lobbying firm to which he had close ties.

People with knowledge of the case said that by the time the investigation stalled in December 2006, it had branched out into other areas, including Mr. Lewis's June 2003 role in passing legislation that helped giant hedge fund Cerberus Capital Management. People associated with Cerberus around the same time gave at least $140,000 to a political action committee controlled by Mr. Lewis. Cerberus officials didn't respond to phone calls or emailed questions concerning the Lewis inquiry.

Money from the PAC was distributed to Republican congressional candidates facing difficult campaigns. The largesse was credited with gaining Mr. Lewis enough support from Republican House members to be chosen as appropriations committee chairman in January 2005. In addition, federal agents were looking into whether Mr. Lewis may have improperly paid for personal expenses with PAC funds.

Barbara Comstock, a spokeswoman for Mr. Lewis, said, "We have no comment," in response to emailed questions about the investigation.

After the lead prosecutor in the Lewis case quit, others assigned to the case took time getting up to speed. Brian Hershman, a former deputy chief of the Los Angeles office's public corruption section, declined to comment on specific cases, but confirms that his group's work overall was derailed by the departure of experienced prosecutors. Like several others, he says he left for more money to support his family.

[jodi babbles nonsensically]

jodi goes blahblahblah hey everybody look at me make an ass out of myself as i am an assklown who drools on myself as i am an idiot and i post in bad faith and i should be banned as i am a maroon.

[let us see !]

Judge to unseal transcripts from secret hearing for Cunningham co-conspirator

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/08/30/news/top_stories/1_03_018_29_07.txt

Most of what was said during four days of secret court hearings for an admitted conspirator of former Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham will soon be made public.

US District Judge Larry Alan Burns, who is overseeing the criminal case against New York businessman Thomas Kontogiannis, ordered portions of the transcripts from secret hearings in the case unsealed. His order to open the files came a week after a federal appeals court agreed with Burns' earlier inclination to make public most - but not all - of the transcripts.

"The court orders the unsealing and public release of the unredacted portions of the transcripts of the proceedings in this case on Feb. 21, 22 and 23, 2007, and April 24, 2007," reads Burns' short order, issued Monday.

Just how much will be kept still under seal is unclear.

The transcripts from Kontogiannis' case have been at the center of a legal tug of war for months, with government prosecutors fighting to keep them under wraps.

When Burns agreed in June to make the transcripts public, prosecutors took their battle to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals - which rejected their arguments, and last week ordered the transcripts unsealed.

It is unclear why federal prosecutors opposed the release of the transcripts; they have not stated their reasons in open court.

Attorneys associated with the case declined comment or could not be reached Tuesday.

The North County Times has requested a copy of the recently unsealed transcripts, but they were not available to be released to the paper Wednesday.

Kontogiannis pleaded guilty in February to bribery for illegally helping finance the former congressman's purchase of a $2.5 million Rancho Santa Fe mansion.

[BlueStateRedhead]

proposal for a new acronym: ABDBFR. Another Bad Day for Bad Republicans. In use in our house on regular occasions, thanks to Abramoff, Libby, Ney, and a cast of tens, soon, it things be Fine, tens of tens.

Will it fly?

[darclay]

EW,
great article! My question is what is the relavance of this article if if our glorious Dem Senators, Schumer and Fienstein are willing to negate all of this work for an apointment to the office of AG that is acceptaple to them. I find this action by them as rummored, to be the lowest form of treason imaginable.OTT this may be, but I for one am tired of congress playing games with this Adminstration.It seems like the Democrats are no better at serving the public than the Republicans sitting in the WH.

[emptywheel]

darclay

OIG will continue its investigation regardless of what the Senators do. That may be one of the reasons they're doing this--because they (or at least Leahy) seem to have confidence this is a real inevstigation.

[darclay]

Thank God for that. I knew you cold make me feel better about this.Thanks for the answer!

[Neil]

Wait - the most astonishing thing in that article is that he was drafted by the San Antonio Spurs. Out of Harvard. In spite of being 5'9".
- Sparkles the Iguana

Yes! That and this: Fine graduated in 1979 from Harvard College, where he was co-captain of the varsity basketball team despite being just 5 feet 9 inches tall, and was known as tenacious, setting college records for assists. He was drafted by the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association, but instead of heading in that direction, he went to Oxford as a Rhodes scholar, and then to HLS.

[emptywheel]

I was going to title this post "Muggsey Bogues." But Fine isn't THAT short.

[G.Florence Scott]

There is incredible corruption within many if not most of the OIG offices in my opinion. One such situation involves FAA, DOT, DOT OIG. Please read letter I sent today:

August 31, 2007

Dear Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, Chairman Henry Waxman and the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Senators Murray and Cantwell, and Congressman Reichert

I have included below information about the activities on Marion Blakely. This is outrageous. I have included information about Marion Blakely below. Marion Blakely should be investigated and prosecuted.

The corruption exposed by Gerald Eastman and others which Ms. Blakely appears to be connected with needs to be finally examined properly and some real action taken.

The Federal Whistleblower legislation S.274 must be passed now. The House and the Senate must see that other Whistleblower reports and complaints must be supported and fully investigated and wrongdoers prosecuted as necessary.

This kind of corruption must stop.

Sincerely,

The Revolving Door Revolves...
WASHINGTON, D.C. -

Found on http://moderateman.blogspot.com/2007/08/revolving-door-revolves.html

The Federal Aviation Administration's top official is headed for the door--Washington's revolving door, that is--to become the aerospace industry's head lobbyist.

The Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) has announced that FAA Administrator Marion Blakey will become its new chief executive Nov. 12, replacing the organization's retiring CEO, John Douglass. In her new role, Blakey will be the top voice in Washington for an industry that makes commercial planes and serves as a contractor to the Pentagon. Its most prominent members include Boeing (nyse: BA - news - people ), Northrop Grumman (nyse: NOC - news - people ) and Lockheed Martin (nyse: LMT - news - people ).

A conflict of interest? Possibly. Even though this type of thing happens all the time in Washington, it's certainly a gray area. And it doesn't do much to change the public's belief that politicians and political appointees are in bed with industry.

"Essentially what these members are doing is cashing in on their public service," says Craig Holman, who follows congressional issues for the watchdog group Public Citizen. He notes that political appointees are doing the same thing. "It's because there's just so much money at stake now," he adds.

(Forbes)

To read more information on FAA/Boeing/DOT Wrongdoing and Corruption, visit: www.thelastinspector.com, and http://whistleblowersupporter.typepad.com or http://360.yahoo.com/flyover_27