Friday, June 19, 2009

Removal of 2 inspectors general prompts questions from Senator

Another Inspector General is questioned. It now the TARP IG in question. It begs the question is how many more inspector general who gives independent investigations are questionable.

WASHINGTON - -- He was appointed with fanfare as the public watchdog over the government's multi-billion dollar bailout of the nation's financial system. But now Neil Barofsky is embroiled in a dispute with the
Obama administration that delayed one recent inquiry and sparked questions about his ability to freely investigate.The disagreement stems from a claim by the Treasury Department that Barofsky is not entirely independent of the agency he is assigned to examine ¿ a claim that has prompted a stern letter from a Republican senator warning that agency officials are encroaching on the integrity of an office created to protect taxpayers.

The disagreement stems from a claim by the
Treasury Department that Barofsky is not entirely independent of the agency he is assigned to examine ¿ a claim that has prompted a stern letter from a Republican senator warning that agency officials are encroaching on the integrity of an office created to protect taxpayers.Sen. Charles Grassley, R- Iowa, sent the letter Wednesday to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner demanding information about a "dispute over certain Treasury documents" that he said were being "withheld" from Barofsky's office on a "specious claim of attorney-client privilege."

Read on.

And no outcry on the corruption within the Office Special Counsel office former head Scott Bloch. To recap the function of OSC:

OSC, a permanent independent federal investigative and prosecutorial agency, has basic legislative authority from three federal statutes, the Civil Service Reform Act, the Whistleblower Protection Act and the Hatch Act.

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