Justice Department inspector general says legal opinion will impair his watchdog role
Corrected: An opinion issued last week by the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel could hamper the work of inspectors general for federal agencies, according to critics.
Among those speaking out is the Justice Department’s inspector general, Michael Horowitz, the Washington Post and Politico report.
The July 20 opinion (PDF) allows the Justice Department to determine when an investigation by the Office of the Inspector General meets standards entitling it to access to wiretaps, grand jury and credit information. The opinion cites laws protecting disclosure of sensitive information, such as the Federal Wiretap Act and the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
The Inspector General Act of 1978 doesn’t override specific, carefully drawn limits on disclosure of information in other laws, the opinion said.
Horowitz says the opinion disregards congressional intent and will make it more difficult to detect waste, fraud and abuse.
A statement (PDF) by Horowitz’s office says that, as a result of the opinion, the Office of Inspector General “will now need to obtain Justice Department permission in order to get access to important information in the department’s files—putting the agency over which the OIG conducts oversight in the position of deciding whether to give the OIG access to the information necessary to conduct that oversight.”
In the past, Horowitz has criticized delayed access to information in several investigations, including the failed gun-running sting operation known as Fast and Furious.
A Justice Department spokeswoman said in a statement that the department has long taken the position that the Inspector General’s office should have access to information needed for its oversight function. The department is “committed to working with Congress and the Inspector General on legislation to address any gaps in the law that may hamper the Inspector General’s ability to access such information in a timely manner.”
Correction
Updated at 12:24 p.m. to correct the name of the DOJ office which released the opinion. It was the Office of Legal Counsel.
