April 1, 2001 – September 30, 2001
Office of the Inspector General
THE OFFICE OF OVERSIGHT AND REVIEW
The Office of Oversight and Review (O&R) – formerly the Special
Investigations and Review Unit – is composed of attorneys, special agents,
program analysts, and administrative personnel. O&R investigates sensitive
allegations involving Department employees, often at the request of the Attorney
General, senior Department managers, or Congress. O&R also conducts systemic
reviews of Department programs, such as a review of the BOP’s system of
monitoring inmates’ use of prison telephones.
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In May 2001, federal prosecutors informed attorneys for Timothy McVeigh and
Terry Nichols, who had been convicted for crimes arising from the 1995 bombing
of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, that more
than 700 documents and other materials relating to the FBI’s investigation had
not been disclosed to the defense before trial. The government conceded that
the failure to disclose the documents violated a discovery agreement in place
at the time of the defendants’ trials. The belated disclosure of documents led
to widespread media attention and accusations that the government had
intentionally failed to provide exculpatory material to the defendants. The
Attorney General asked the OIG to investigate the belated disclosure of the
materials, and the OIG assembled an 11-person team consisting of attorneys,
special agents, auditors, and support personnel. Within four months, the team
conducted more than 180 interviews, reviewed thousands of documents, and
conducted on-site investigations at 13 FBI field offices. The OIG is currently
drafting its report of investigation.
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The OIG has received an increasing number of complaints by FBI personnel
alleging violations of the whistleblower regulations. During this reporting
period, O&R investigated and closed two such whistleblower matters. In
one, the OIG found that a senior FBI manager retaliated against a special
agent by threatening to change aspects of the special agent’s job. The threats
were made after the special agent had complained that the manager had given
improper instructions for completing time and attendance records. In the
second matter, the OIG did not find that FBI managers retaliated against a
senior FBI official.
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O&R completed its investigation of an allegation that DEA officials
improperly closed a criminal investigation due to political pressure and that
a DEA official made false statements to a congressional committee. The OIG did
not substantiate the allegation that the DEA’s criminal case was closed
because of political pressure. We concluded that a senior manager in the DEA
field office unilaterally curtailed the investigation without properly
analyzing the situation or fully considering the consequences of his decision
before acting. We also concluded that the manager’s statements to the
committee were incomplete and misleading.
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O&R concluded its investigation concerning the kidnapping of an AUSA.
In May 2000, the AUSA, attending a training conference in Kiev, Ukraine, was
kidnapped and drugged, and several thousand dollars of unauthorized charges
were made to his credit cards. As a result of O&R’s investigation, the OIG
concluded that the AUSA had used extremely poor judgment, had acted
unprofessionally, and had placed himself in a vulnerable position while in
Kiev. The OIG also concluded that discipline of the AUSA was not handled
appropriately and that the USAO and the EOUSA had failed to notify the OIG and
the Department’s security office of the incident in a timely manner.
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O&R investigated two matters involving employee conflicts of interest,
one in the Civil Rights Division and another in the Antitrust Division. In
both cases, the OIG did not find that the employees violated the conflict of
interest regulations. However, dhe OIG concluded that the employees should
have consulted with ethics officials in their divisions.
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At the request of the Attorney General and the Senate Select Committee on
Intelligence, the OIG is examining the Department’s performance in preventing,
detecting, and investigating the espionage activities of former FBI agent
Robert Philip Hanssen. To conduct its review, the OIG has assembled a team of
approximately 10 attorneys, investigators, and analysts. To date, the OIG has
obtained from the FBI more than 100,000 pages of documents related to this
investigation.
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O&R has initiated a follow-up review to its 1999 report examining the
BOP’s management of inmate telephone privileges. In that report, the OIG found
a significant problem with federal inmates using prison telephones to commit
serious crimes while incarcerated. We also found that BOP management had taken
insufficient steps to address the problem, and we made numerous
recommendations for corrective action. In this follow-up review, we will
evaluate BOP’s response to the OIG report. O&R is currently evaluating
responses to an OIG survey about monitoring inmate telephone use that was sent
to all BOP institutions.
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O&R continues to investigate FBI whistleblower matters. In one ongoing
case, O&R is investigating a claim of retaliation as well as a claim that
the FBI practices a “double standard” whereby senior level executives are
disciplined less harshly than other personnel.