The attack could have been worse. But, this is the era of violence in politics in the USA and the Democrats are getting more than their fair share.
By Caitlin Yilek
Washington - Democratic Rep. Gerry Connolly (click here) said a person armed with a baseball bat attacked members of his staff at his district office in Fairfax, Virginia, on Monday morning.
"This morning, an individual entered my District Office armed with a baseball bat and asked for me before committing an act of violence against two members of my staff," the Virginia congressman said in a news release.
The person is in police custody and the two staff members were brought to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries, according to Connelly.
"Right now, our focus is on ensuring they are receiving the care they need," he said, thanking first responders for their quick response. "My District Office staff make themselves available to constituents and members of the public every day. The thought that someone would take advantage of my staff's accessibility to commit an act of violence is unconscionable and devastating."...
Michael Atkinson was dismissed on April 3, 2020.
April 6, 2020
Michael Atkinson, (click here) the inspector general of the intelligence community, arrives at the Capitol where he will go behind closed doors to be questioned about the whistleblower complaint that exposed a July phone call the president had with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in which Trump pressed for an investigation of Democratic political rival Joe Biden and his family, at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, Oct. 4, 2019.
August 25, 2022
By Glenn Fine
...Recently, a series of allegations surfaced (click here) regarding the conduct of Joseph Cuffari, the IG at the Department of Homeland Security. According to the January 6 committee, Cuffari knew about the deletion of Secret Service text messages relating to the Capitol riot but did not notify Congress about it for months. Allegedly, he also prevented his own investigators from seeking to recover the text messages. Now the chair of the committee says that Cuffari is not cooperating with its investigation of the missing texts.
According to media reports, Cuffari is additionally being investigated for prior retaliation against employees in his office and allegedly is not cooperating fully with that investigation either. He also allegedly declined to open a review of the Secret Service’s use of force in the June 2020 Lafayette Square demonstration, and he allegedly removed negative findings about the Secret Service from other reviews.
We do not yet know all the facts in these cases, but these serious allegations are troubling. Cuffari was appointed IG at the Department of Homeland Security in 2019. He seems to have come to the attention of the Trump administration after working as a policy adviser to two Republican governors of Arizona—this is contrary to the 1978 Inspector General Act, which requires IGs to be selected without regard to political affiliation....
May 2, 2020
By Grace Segers
President Trump announced his intent to nominate a new inspector general (click here) for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), weeks after acting inspector general Christi Grimm released a report detailing shortages of testing and personal protective equipment (PPE) in hospitals responding to the coronavirus pandemic.
"We will continue to serve the American people by ensuring that their health and welfare are protected. Our agency began preparing to assist a new Inspector General appointee over a year ago, when the previous presidentially-appointed and senate-confirmed Inspector General first announced his intention to retire from government service. We will continue to work conscientiously to support a smooth leadership transition," said Tesia Williams, spokesperson for the office of the inspector general for HHS.
Mr. Trump criticized Grimm in early April, calling the findings in her report "wrong."
"Did I hear the word inspector general? Really?" Mr. Trump said during a White House briefing, demanding that the reporter who asked the question give him the name of the inspector general who wrote the report. "Where did he come from, the inspector general? What's his name? No, what's his name? What's his name?"...
May 20, 2020
By Matthew Daly
Washington - Congressional Democrats are protesting (click here) President Donald Trump’s decision to remove the Transportation Department’s acting inspector general, the latest in a string of actions by Trump to fire or replace government watchdogs.
The Democratic chairs of three House panels on Tuesday demanded that Mitch Behm be reinstated immediately as acting inspector general.
The lawmakers also demanded that the Trump administration turn over information about current investigations that might have played a role in Behm's removal, including a review of whether Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao has given preferential treatment to Kentucky. Her husband, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican and a top Trump ally, is seeking reelection this year.
Behm's removal “is the latest in a series of politically motivated firings of inspectors general by President Trump,'' the lawmakers wrote. "This assault on the integrity and independence of inspectors general appears to be an intentional campaign to undermine their ability to expose corruption and protect taxpayer dollars from waste, fraud and abuse.”...
...The emails, (click here) requested by the Center for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington under the Freedom of Information Act, show that even Behm was stunned when he was abruptly returned to his prior role as deputy inspector general.
“Wild,” he emailed an unnamed outside associate at 10:17 p.m. the night the White House announced that Howard “Skip” Elliott, administrator of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, would serve as acting inspector general instead of Behm....
...Democrats also questioned whether Behm’s removal was spurred by a DOT IG investigation of allegations that Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao, who is married to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, gave special treatment to McConnell’s constituents, steering millions of dollars to Kentucky in order to help his political prospects....
June 10, 2020
By Tucker Doherty and Tanya Snyder
The Transportation Department under Secretary Elaine Chao (click here) designated a special liaison to help with grant applications and other priorities from her husband Mitch McConnell’s state of Kentucky, paving the way for grants totaling at least $78 million for favored projects as McConnell prepared to campaign for reelection.
Chao’s aide Todd Inman, who stated in an email to McConnell’s Senate office that Chao had personally asked him to serve as an intermediary, helped advise the senator and local Kentucky officials on grants with special significance for McConnell — including a highway-improvement project in a McConnell political stronghold that had been twice rejected for previous grant applications....
May 15, 2020
By Meridith McGraw and Nahal Toosi
June 4, 2020
By Zachary Cohen
By Charles Savage
Washington - The intelligence community inspector general (click here) whom President Trump fired late Friday night has called on whistle-blowers to overcome any fears and come forward with information about waste and illegality in the government despite the administration’s reprisals.
“The American people deserve an honest and effective government,” the fired official, Michael K. Atkinson, said in a lengthy statement late on Sunday. “They are counting on you to use authorized channels to bravely speak up — there is no disgrace for doing so.”
He added: “Please do not allow recent events to silence your voices.”
Mr. Atkinson, who was appointed by Mr. Trump in 2018, drew the president’s ire last year after he received a whistle-blower complaint from an intelligence community official accusing the president of abusing his power over foreign policy to coerce Ukraine’s government into announcing investigations that could deliver him personal political benefits....
April 7, 2020
By Tim Mak
“The American people deserve an honest and effective government,” the fired official, Michael K. Atkinson, said in a lengthy statement late on Sunday. “They are counting on you to use authorized channels to bravely speak up — there is no disgrace for doing so.”
He added: “Please do not allow recent events to silence your voices.”
Mr. Atkinson, who was appointed by Mr. Trump in 2018, drew the president’s ire last year after he received a whistle-blower complaint from an intelligence community official accusing the president of abusing his power over foreign policy to coerce Ukraine’s government into announcing investigations that could deliver him personal political benefits....
Glenn Fine was dismissed on April 7th. He was the Acting Inspector General as Pandemic Response Accountability Office with Homeland Security. He was on the job for one week.
By Tim Mak
President Trump (click here) on Monday dismissed the independent chairman of a committee tasked with overseeing the roll-out of the $2 trillion coronavirus bailout package, The Post has learned.
President Trump has removed the head of a group (click here) charged with overseeing the $2 trillion coronavirus package passed by Congress last month.
The coronavirus recovery law requires that an existing inspector general be selected by a council of inspectors general to oversee the response to the pandemic. That council picked Glenn Fine, the acting inspector general at the Department of Defense, to lead the newly formed Pandemic Response Accountability Committee.
But on Monday, the president designated Sean W. O'Donnell, the inspector general at the Environmental Protection Agency, to be the new acting inspector general at the Department of Defense, thus voiding Fine's eligibility to lead coronavirus oversight efforts.
Fine "is no longer on the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee," said Dwrena Allen, a spokesperson for the Pentagon Inspector General's office, adding that Fine would revert to his old role as the principal deputy inspector general at the Department of Defense....
President Trump has removed the head of a group (click here) charged with overseeing the $2 trillion coronavirus package passed by Congress last month.
The coronavirus recovery law requires that an existing inspector general be selected by a council of inspectors general to oversee the response to the pandemic. That council picked Glenn Fine, the acting inspector general at the Department of Defense, to lead the newly formed Pandemic Response Accountability Committee.
But on Monday, the president designated Sean W. O'Donnell, the inspector general at the Environmental Protection Agency, to be the new acting inspector general at the Department of Defense, thus voiding Fine's eligibility to lead coronavirus oversight efforts.
Fine "is no longer on the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee," said Dwrena Allen, a spokesperson for the Pentagon Inspector General's office, adding that Fine would revert to his old role as the principal deputy inspector general at the Department of Defense....
August 25, 2022
By Glenn Fine
...Recently, a series of allegations surfaced (click here) regarding the conduct of Joseph Cuffari, the IG at the Department of Homeland Security. According to the January 6 committee, Cuffari knew about the deletion of Secret Service text messages relating to the Capitol riot but did not notify Congress about it for months. Allegedly, he also prevented his own investigators from seeking to recover the text messages. Now the chair of the committee says that Cuffari is not cooperating with its investigation of the missing texts.
According to media reports, Cuffari is additionally being investigated for prior retaliation against employees in his office and allegedly is not cooperating fully with that investigation either. He also allegedly declined to open a review of the Secret Service’s use of force in the June 2020 Lafayette Square demonstration, and he allegedly removed negative findings about the Secret Service from other reviews.
We do not yet know all the facts in these cases, but these serious allegations are troubling. Cuffari was appointed IG at the Department of Homeland Security in 2019. He seems to have come to the attention of the Trump administration after working as a policy adviser to two Republican governors of Arizona—this is contrary to the 1978 Inspector General Act, which requires IGs to be selected without regard to political affiliation....
Christi Grimm was dismissed on May 1, 2020.
By Grace Segers
Grimm angered President Donald Trump (click here) when she released an independent report that found there were "severe" and "widespread" shortages of masks and other critical supplies across the US in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.
President Trump announced his intent to nominate a new inspector general (click here) for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), weeks after acting inspector general Christi Grimm released a report detailing shortages of testing and personal protective equipment (PPE) in hospitals responding to the coronavirus pandemic.
"We will continue to serve the American people by ensuring that their health and welfare are protected. Our agency began preparing to assist a new Inspector General appointee over a year ago, when the previous presidentially-appointed and senate-confirmed Inspector General first announced his intention to retire from government service. We will continue to work conscientiously to support a smooth leadership transition," said Tesia Williams, spokesperson for the office of the inspector general for HHS.
Mr. Trump criticized Grimm in early April, calling the findings in her report "wrong."
"Did I hear the word inspector general? Really?" Mr. Trump said during a White House briefing, demanding that the reporter who asked the question give him the name of the inspector general who wrote the report. "Where did he come from, the inspector general? What's his name? No, what's his name? What's his name?"...
Mitch Behm, Acting Inspector General of Transportation was dismissed on May 15, 2020. He was investigating Elaine Chao.
By Matthew Daly
Washington - Congressional Democrats are protesting (click here) President Donald Trump’s decision to remove the Transportation Department’s acting inspector general, the latest in a string of actions by Trump to fire or replace government watchdogs.
The Democratic chairs of three House panels on Tuesday demanded that Mitch Behm be reinstated immediately as acting inspector general.
The lawmakers also demanded that the Trump administration turn over information about current investigations that might have played a role in Behm's removal, including a review of whether Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao has given preferential treatment to Kentucky. Her husband, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican and a top Trump ally, is seeking reelection this year.
Behm's removal “is the latest in a series of politically motivated firings of inspectors general by President Trump,'' the lawmakers wrote. "This assault on the integrity and independence of inspectors general appears to be an intentional campaign to undermine their ability to expose corruption and protect taxpayer dollars from waste, fraud and abuse.”...
June 24, 2020
By Jessica Wehrman
...The emails, (click here) requested by the Center for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington under the Freedom of Information Act, show that even Behm was stunned when he was abruptly returned to his prior role as deputy inspector general.
“Wild,” he emailed an unnamed outside associate at 10:17 p.m. the night the White House announced that Howard “Skip” Elliott, administrator of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, would serve as acting inspector general instead of Behm....
...Democrats also questioned whether Behm’s removal was spurred by a DOT IG investigation of allegations that Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao, who is married to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, gave special treatment to McConnell’s constituents, steering millions of dollars to Kentucky in order to help his political prospects....
Chao was a one woman steering committee. There was special treatment of her spouse. It was all political.
By Tucker Doherty and Tanya Snyder
The Transportation Department under Secretary Elaine Chao (click here) designated a special liaison to help with grant applications and other priorities from her husband Mitch McConnell’s state of Kentucky, paving the way for grants totaling at least $78 million for favored projects as McConnell prepared to campaign for reelection.
Chao’s aide Todd Inman, who stated in an email to McConnell’s Senate office that Chao had personally asked him to serve as an intermediary, helped advise the senator and local Kentucky officials on grants with special significance for McConnell — including a highway-improvement project in a McConnell political stronghold that had been twice rejected for previous grant applications....
Steven Linick was dismissed on May 15, 2020 as well. Representative Gerry Connolly was running an investigation into his dismissal when his office was attacked.
By Meridith McGraw and Nahal Toosi
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (click here) said he was unaware the State Department’s inspector general was investigating him at the time he recommended that President Donald Trump fire the internal watchdog.
President Donald Trump has removed State Department Inspector General Steve Linick (click here) and replaced him with an ally of Vice President Mike Pence — the latest in a series of moves against independent government watchdogs in recent months.
Trump informed Congress of his intent to oust Linick, a Justice Department veteran appointed to the role in 2013 by then President Barack Obama, in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Friday night....
...“The president’s late-night, weekend firing of the State Department inspector general has accelerated his dangerous pattern of retaliation against the patriotic public servants charged with conducting oversight on behalf of the American people,” Pelosi said in an statement. “Inspector General Linick was punished for honorably performing his duty to protect the Constitution and our national security, as required by the law and by his oath.”
Rep. Eliot L. Engel (D-N.Y.), chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, called Linick’s dismissal an “outrageous act of a president trying to protect one of his most loyal supporters, the secretary of State, from accountability.”
Engel claimed: “I have learned that the Office of the Inspector General had opened an investigation into Secretary Pompeo. Mr. Linick’s firing amid such a probe strongly suggests that this is an unlawful act of retaliation.”
A Democratic congressional aide said Linick had launched an investigation into Pompeo’s alleged misuse of a political appointee to perform personal tasks for him and Mrs. Pompeo. The State Department did not respond to an inquiry about the allegation....
President Donald Trump has removed State Department Inspector General Steve Linick (click here) and replaced him with an ally of Vice President Mike Pence — the latest in a series of moves against independent government watchdogs in recent months.
Trump informed Congress of his intent to oust Linick, a Justice Department veteran appointed to the role in 2013 by then President Barack Obama, in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Friday night....
...“The president’s late-night, weekend firing of the State Department inspector general has accelerated his dangerous pattern of retaliation against the patriotic public servants charged with conducting oversight on behalf of the American people,” Pelosi said in an statement. “Inspector General Linick was punished for honorably performing his duty to protect the Constitution and our national security, as required by the law and by his oath.”
Rep. Eliot L. Engel (D-N.Y.), chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, called Linick’s dismissal an “outrageous act of a president trying to protect one of his most loyal supporters, the secretary of State, from accountability.”
Engel claimed: “I have learned that the Office of the Inspector General had opened an investigation into Secretary Pompeo. Mr. Linick’s firing amid such a probe strongly suggests that this is an unlawful act of retaliation.”
A Democratic congressional aide said Linick had launched an investigation into Pompeo’s alleged misuse of a political appointee to perform personal tasks for him and Mrs. Pompeo. The State Department did not respond to an inquiry about the allegation....
Democrats are not the only ones worried about the country. There are Republicans, at least on the surface, that became very concerned about the actions by Trump in the firings of so many inspector generals.
By Zachary Cohen
If Iowa’s incumbent senator (click here) runs for reelection in 2022, the seat is safe for Republicans. If he retires, they’ll have a battle on their hands.
Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley said Thursday (click here) he will block two of President Donald Trump’s nominees from moving forward in the confirmation process until the administration provides “adequate reasons” for firing the inspectors general of the intelligence community and State Department.
The move marks an escalation by Grassley after White House counsel Pat Cipollone chose not to explain why Trump had removed the two inspectors general last month, instead emphasizing the President’s legal authority to do so.
Last month’s letter from Cipollone, which Grassley swiftly blasted as having “failed to address” the congressional requirement that there “ought to be a good reason” for such dismissals, came in response to the Iowa senator’s request that Trump explain why they had been ousted....
Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley said Thursday (click here) he will block two of President Donald Trump’s nominees from moving forward in the confirmation process until the administration provides “adequate reasons” for firing the inspectors general of the intelligence community and State Department.
The move marks an escalation by Grassley after White House counsel Pat Cipollone chose not to explain why Trump had removed the two inspectors general last month, instead emphasizing the President’s legal authority to do so.
Last month’s letter from Cipollone, which Grassley swiftly blasted as having “failed to address” the congressional requirement that there “ought to be a good reason” for such dismissals, came in response to the Iowa senator’s request that Trump explain why they had been ousted....
All the investigations into the dismissal of Inspector Generals are appropriate and necessary. The country has a right to know why such highly qualified individuals were dismissed. It was completely wrong of Trump to dismiss these folks. They were doing a good job. They were doing the work of the people. It is unfortunate Trump's administration was so highly unethical in their positions of power. Some investigations might have lead to criminal intent by some Trump appointees. That is the job of the Inspector Generals.
Democrats are asking the correct questions about issues of unethical conduct by people in office. It is right and necessary to ask. The violence against a very important group of people conducting important work for the country is simply wrong.
The political dialogue in the country is demonized by anger and hate when these people are freely elected by those they represent. The political tenor of the country has to change. Hate and anger is Anti-American.
In the USA we investigate and report to the people. In autocratic countries they murder. The USA cannot become such an entity in the world. The USA has served as a beacon of moral content for the world. That cannot change. It would be a far worse place for all people if the USA fell under such a ruler pretending to love this country.
