Why are federal Inspectors General not allowed to do their job?

http://weartv.com/news/nation-world/why-are-federal-inspectors-general-not-allowed-to-do-their-job

When DEA agents last year were accused of having sex parties with prostitutes paid for by drug cartels, an investigation by the Inspectors General of the Department of Justice was immediately launched.

In their concluding report, they noted getting access to information was met with repeated delays and difficulties.

Michael Horwitz was the author of that report and says it was just one on a long list of examples of IGs being told they can’t get the documents or resources they need.

Michael Horwitz, Inspector General, Dept. of Justice said, “Up until 2010 the law was quite clear and everyone operated under the law which was that we get, as IGs, access to all information.”

Here’s the thing – the law never changed – just the interpretation of it starting in about 2010.

He says IGs for dozens of other agencies noticed as well and called for action in a letter signed by 68 of them.

“These decisions are being made by agency counsel to limit our access in a way that’s not transparent and not accountable.”

Kristine: it seems that’s not the way the system was set up

Michael: well it can’t be how the system was set up. If you need to go to the folks that you’re overseeing to ask permission to get access to records about potentially very serious misconduct there is always the potential that we don’t get all the records we need and of course we don’t know what we don’t know”

There is bipartisan legislation on cap hill right now to try to fix this problem, spelling out that access to all information means all information. So far that bill is stalled in both the House and the Senate.

Filed under: General Problems