Oversight

‘Serious failures’ handling Jeffrey Epstein’s custody highlight the staffing crisis at federal prisons, watchdog says

The Justice Department IG blasted the Bureau of Prisons on many fronts in a new report and the bureau’s director concurred with all the recommendations. 

Oversight

Democrats call YouTube ‘extremely irresponsible’ for election misinformation rollback

YouTube’s decision to stop removing false content about previous U.S. elections “threatens to weaken our democracy,” several top Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee said in a letter to the platform’s leaders. 

Oversight

Records agency to DHS: Look into your watchdog’s use of text messages 

This comes after a hearing two weeks ago that raised concerns among some lawmakers about how the IG uses and retains records of electronic messages. 

Oversight

How The Exposure Of Highly Classified Documents Could Harm U.S. Security – And Why There Are Laws Against Storing Them Insecurely

The Espionage Act is much broader than traditional spying and includes the unauthorized possession, storage or disclosure of classified information.

Oversight

Trump Indictments Won’t Keep Him From Presidential Race, But Will Make His Reelection Bid Much Harder

Because the Constitution does not require that the president be free from indictment, conviction or prison, it follows that a person under indictment or in prison may run for the office and may even serve as president.

Oversight

Trump Indictment Unsealed – A Criminal Law Scholar Explains What The Charges Mean, And What Prosecutors Will Now Need To Prove

The 49-page document details how Trump kept classified government documents – including papers concerning U.S. nuclear capabilities – scattered in boxes across his home at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, long after his presidency ended in 2021 and the government tried to reclaim them.

Oversight

Days Before Trump Indictment, A Small Office Sounded the Alarm on Handling of Classified Information

The retiring director of the Information Security Oversight Office says he is leaving “with a deep sense of uneasiness;” a report from the office calls for more training of executive branch officials. 

Oversight

Democrats: It's Time for the DHS Watchdog to Go

Two House lawmakers allege the inspector general violated the Federal Records Act when he deleted text messages on his government-issued phone.

Oversight

The DHS Watchdog Says He Deletes Texts. Lawmakers Want to Know If This Violates Records Preservation Laws.

Two lawmakers have also introduced a bill to increase transparency in the Homeland Security Inspector General office.

Oversight

The White House Threatens Vetoes Over Regulations Bills

The House is scheduled to vote on these bills this week, but so far has failed to pass the initial procedural measure.

Oversight

Struggles With Air Quality in Federal Offices Put Occupants At Risk of COVID Exposure

Leadership at the General Services Administration agreed with recommendations to address the issues from its watchdog.

Oversight

House Oversight Chief to Biden: It’s Time to Finally Nominate State, USAID and Treasury Watchdogs

Two of the positions have been vacant for more than 1,000 days, and the other has sat empty for over 850 days.

Oversight

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Investigation Finds Multiple Failings in the Death of 8-Year-Old Girl in Federal Custody

CBP acting Commissioner Troy Miller said in a statement that the in-custody death was “deeply upsetting” and an “unacceptable tragedy.”

Oversight

Thousands of HUD Contractor Employees Need Better Whistleblower Protections, Watchdog Says

Inspector General Rae Oliver Davis warned of a possible “chilling effect” that could make the contractors hesitant to report wrongdoing.

Oversight

Does Congress Need a Chief Data Officer?

A new joint resolution would establish a bipartisan commission to look at what legislators need in terms of data, evidence and professional capacity.

Oversight

Federal Officials’ Financial and Ethics Docs Would Be Easier to Find Under a New Bill

The legislation would fix the “labyrinthian process of requesting them,” said Dylan Hedtler-Gaudette, of the nonprofit Project on Government Oversight.