Ex-Chief Calls for Scrapping Justice Dept. Watchdog

[maddezmom]

Ex-Chief Calls for Scrapping Justice Dept. Watchdog
by Ari Shapiro

All Things Considered, June 1, 2007 · A respected former head of the Office of Professional Responsibility says the Justice Department-controlled office should be abolished. The unit helps monitor ethics at Justice — but it is controlled by the attorney general.

The other Justice watchdog, the Office of the Inspector General, is independent. For years, government officials have rejected a merger of the two agencies that serve as the Justice Department's internal watchdogs.

Now, as the OPR and OIG pursue a rare joint investigation of U.S. attorney firings — and other allegations of political improprieties at the department — the man who led OPR for 24 years tells NPR he thinks it would be a good idea to combine the two.

Michael Shaheen helped create OPR in the mid-'70s. He fought against the creation of an Inspector General's office in the '80s.

Now, he believes the watchdog he helped create has become ineffective and should close up shop. He said the Inspector General's office today is, "a quick and efficient office that's empowered to investigate both administrative and criminal matters."

more:http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10634336

[Pace]

1. Here' s a bit of ironic history

the office of inspector general was created by the Nixon administration in order to protect the unpoliticized auditing of government agencies, in fact, the flack over the inspector general's actions since then has become a point of hilarity in the washingtonian halls of shame.

Here's the problem though, the position has become a "rewards point" for many presidents, who appoint their favorite fundraising trolls to these positions, Natch, the leanings of loyalty fall to the right or the left dependent upon the particular color of the sitting president no?

To me, this analogy is perfect; this individual is a doctor who wishes to destroy the rusty saw normally used to perform open heart surgery, and opts for the dirty butter knife instead.

Not good enough in my estimation

Regards
Pace