Muzzling the watchdogs
Since Congress created the first inspectors general for federal agencies in 1978, these in-house watchdogs have proved their worth. Inspectors general have investigated the CIA’s inhumane “enhanced interrogation methods,” revealed abuses in the FBI’s acquisition of telephone and other records, and documented the selective enforcement by the Internal Revenue Service of regulations governing political spending by tax-exempt groups.
It is not surprising to learn from inspectors general for several federal agencies that their work is being hampered by the unwillingness of the officials they monitor to provide information—despite the fact that the Inspector General Act requires that inspectors general have access to “all records, reports, audits, reviews, documents, papers, recommendations or other material” necessary to do their job.
Beginning in 2010, FBI lawyers argued that some records couldn’t be shared because of protections in federal law. In July, the department’s Office of Legal Counsel concluded that the inspector general could be denied access to some information in the contents of wiretaps, grand jury proceedings and credit information.
The author of that opinion, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Karl R. Thompson, concluded that the Inspector General Act’s requirement that inspectors general have access to “all records” must be qualified in light of the provisions of the federal Wiretap Act, the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure and Section 626 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
The council representing inspectors general from throughout the government warned that the Office of Legal Counsel’s opinion “represents a potentially serious challenge to the authority of every inspector general and our collective ability to conduct our work thoroughly, independently and in a timely manner.”
There is a bipartisan effort in Congress to make it clear that, irrespective of other laws, inspectors general are entitled to “all records” necessary for them to perform their vital function. Enacting such a law must be a priority when Congress returns to work.