Legal Filings

Jan 28, 2011

Give DOJ Inspector General Authority Over Attorneys

Administration & Lobbying, Federal Agencies, Department of Justice, House Members, Darrell Issa

Today Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) sent a letter to both the Chairman of the House Committee of Oversight and Government Reform, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), and the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), requesting their committees extend the jurisdiction of the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Inspector General (IG) to include the department's attorneys. CREW seeks this change to place the DOJ's IG on par with all other inspectors general in the federal government.

DOJ's efforts to investigate attorney misconduct are not only often ineffective, but are completely lacking in transparency. In a recent interview with Legal Times, DOJ's current inspector general, Glenn Fine, expressly contrasted this process with that of his office, which is both "independent and transparent." As a result of the secrecy that surrounds all aspects of the Office of Professional Responsibility - the office that currently investigates DOJ attorney misconduct - both Congress and the public are deprived of vital information about how DOJ's attorneys carry out their governmental responsibilities. This information is of critical importance when DOJ attorneys are charged publicly with wrongdoing, as in the case of DOJ's high-profile but botched prosecution of former Senator Ted Stevens.

Click here to read CREW's letter.