Dominating the headlines

 

August 13, 2022

The news of the Justice Department’s visit to former President Donald Trump’s Florida home dominated news headlines this week. The Washington Post reports that FBI agents were looking for documents relating to nuclear weapons, among other things. The DOJ has come under fire by some in Congress for investigating the former president, but it would be negligent to ignore evidence of top-secret documents sitting at Mar-A-Lago. We may have more information soon. The Justice Department told a court they supported unsealing the search warrant, and Trump has indicated he does not object. We’re glad to see the Justice Department recognize in this case that it could not ignore potential lawbreaking by a former President, and that there was a public interest in some transparency about the investigation. We hope the DOJ approaches its January 6 investigation with the same sense of transparency and accountability, including by releasing any legal memos regarding the prosecution of presidents. Elsewhere in the January 6 probe, we reported this week that Department of Homeland Security Inspector General Joseph Cuffari’s office rejected a draft alert to inform Congress about the deleted Secret Service texts in June, leaving Congress in the dark for another month. The Washington Post also published a stunning new report revealing that Cuffari and his aides have been refusing to turn over documents to the government body that oversees inspectors general. This latest reporting just adds to the pile of previously reported failures by Cuffari, which we detail in a new piece for Just Security. WANT MORE FROM POGO? The latest from us, straight to your inbox For updates on POGO’s investigations, upcoming events, and more ways you can get involved, subscribe to our emails. INVESTIGATION DHS Watchdog Nixed Alert to Congress About Purged January 6 Texts, New Docs Show DHS Inspector General Joseph Cuffari failed to alert Congress in a timely way about erased Secret Service texts connected to January 6, despite his staff’s recommendations that he do so. Read More ANALYSIS Lawmakers Work to Prevent Military Price Gouging Military contractors have long price gouged to make excessive profits. But Congress can intervene. Lawmakers should retain in the final annual defense policy bill, a provision to tie financial incentives to contractor performance and transparency. Read More OP-ED DHS IG Cuffari’s Actions Exhibit Clear Pattern: Unwillingness or Inability to Meet the Mission Presdient Biden may be tempted to let the inspector general community police their own, but that might tacitly approve inferior performance. Read More QUOTE OF THE WEEK “Watchdogs need to be held to the highest standards if they are to be credible. There’s a pattern of Cuffari resisting the kind of oversight that other federal employees face.” Nick Schwellenbach, Senior Investigator, in the Washington Post OVERHEARD ONE LINERS “Any member that is pushing back saying these are draconian or unnecessary is missing the forest through the trees... American people deserve to know that there are strong enough rules in place that they do not need to worry about their members of Congress trading stock on inside information.” Liz Hempowicz, Director of Public Policy, in the Hill   “The Secret Service as an agency failed here, but leaders like the (chief information officer) and the general counsel have primary responsibility. These high level leaders dropped the ball.” Nick Schwellenbach, Senior Investigator, in Fed Scoop   “This is the highest profile review his office is conducting, and of massive interest to Congress and the American people, and Cuffari’s top aides failed to meet the moment every step of the way.” Liz Hempowicz, Director of Public Policy, in Talking Points Memo Enjoyed this weekend’s edition of the Weekly Spotlight? Forward to a friend. Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Welcome! 👋 Subscribe here.   WANT MORE FROM POGO? Eyes on the federal government from every angle:   Paper Trail: Quick links to the news in the world of government oversight The Bunker: Military intelligence from POGO's Mark Thompson The Bridge: Analysis on the latest in government ethics from Walt Shaub Sidebar: Key context on the latest constitutional news from the TCP team   🎧 The Continuous Action Podcast 📺 YouTube 📱 Instagram 💸 Support our work

pogo.org The Project On Government Oversight (POGO) is a nonpartisan independent watchdog that investigates and exposes waste, corruption, abuse of power, and when the government fails to serve the public or silences those who report wrongdoing. We champion reforms to achieve a more effective, ethical, and accountable federal government that safeguards constitutional principles.

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