Unnoticed Whistle-Blower Document Alarms Justice Department Veterans

New York Times

5 days ago

The Justice Department's internal watchdog lost a crucial account from a whistle-blower detailing wrongdoing by political appointees for more than two months, prompting criticism that the agency's inspector general has been inactive and silent during a time of deep turmoil.
The complaint, submitted in early May, accused top Justice Department officials like Emil Bove III of overseeing an effort to mislead judges and skirt or ignore court orders, according to people familiar with the filing.
That the office received, but did not act upon, a potentially explosive set of allegations two weeks before news of Mr. Bove's nomination to become a federal appeals court judge has raised serious concerns from current and former department lawyers that the unit responsible for policing not just the department but agencies like the F.B.I. and D.E.A. may have gone largely dormant.
'We were all stunned,' said Libby Liu, the chief executive of Whistleblower Aid, a group representing the person who filed the complaint. 'Clearly the inspector general failed in their basic function here. If they don't even open whistle-blower complaints, then what is going on?'
A spokesperson for the inspector general declined to comment on the handling of the complaint.
The filing, which is not public, was submitted to the inspector general's office in electronic form on May 2, and a longer, printed version that included documentary evidence was delivered on May 5, according to people familiar with the filing.
The inspector general appears to have done nothing with the information for more than two months, and many in that office did not realize they even had the material until a day or two before the full Senate voted on Mr. Bove's nomination. He was confirmed Tuesday by a razor-thin margin, 50 to 49.
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