Obama Restricts Investigative Powers Of Inspectors General

The Obama administration formally announced inspectors general will have to be granted permission by their agency heads to gain access to grand jury, wiretap and fair credit information – an action that severely limits the watchdogs oversight capabilities, independence, and power to uncover fraud.

An opinion, issued by the Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel, says the Inspector General (IG) Act of 1978 – which was written by Congress to create the government watchdogs in order to help maintain integrity within their agencies – does not have the authority to override nondisclosure provisions in other laws, most notably in regards to grand jury, wiretap or fair credit information.

“In reaching these conclusions, our Office ‘s role has not been to decide what access [inspector generals] should receive as a matter of policy. Rather, we have endeavored to determine as a matter of law, using established tools of statutory construction, how best to reconcile the strong privacy protections…with the interest in access reflected in.. the IG Act,” OLC’s opinion, dated July 20 and released Thursday reads.

“I strongly disagree with the OLC opinion,” Michael Horowitz, the DOJ’s inspector general said in a statement. “Congress meant what it said when it authorized Inspectors General to independently access ‘all’ documents necessary to conduct effective oversight.

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