EFTA02514791.pdf

From: jeffrey E. <jeevacation@gmail.com> Sent: Tuesday, November 18, 2014 7:51 PM To: Kathy Ruemmler Subject: Re: I would be happy to sit with him, On Tue, Nov 18, 2014 at 3=50 PM, Kathy Ruemmler < > wrote= DO1 Watchdog Wants Gre=ter Attorney Ethics Oversight Zoe Tillman,=Legal Times November 18, 2014 Investigating a=legations of attorney misconduct—and giving transparency to the pr=cess—continue to pose challenges for the U.S. Department of Justic=, according to a new report <http://www.justice.gov/oig/challenges/2014.htm> by the de=artment's independent inspector general. Inspector General =ichael Horowitz urged Congress to adopt legislation that would give his of=ice more authority to investigate alleged misconduct by DOJ lawyers. That =unction is primarily carried out by the department's Office of Pro=essional Responsibility. "The OIG has long questioned the ca=ving out of this exclusive role for [the Office of Professional Responsibi=ityj as it is managed as a component of the department, has no institution=l independence, and lacks transparency in that it does not regularly relea=e its reports and conclusions to the public," Horowitz wrote in th= inspector general's annual report to Congress, which the office announced on Monday. The Just=ce Department has long faced criticism for the lack of transparency when i= comes to how officials handle complaints of attorney misconduct. The Offi=e of Professional Responsibility in most cases keeps information about its=investigations secret. It has occasionally releases public reports on high=profile matters, such as the firing of six U.S. attorneys in 2006 and the =otched prosecution of Ted Stevens in 2008. The office's most recent annual report said that in 2013 =he office determined that 93 of the 819 complaints it received were worth =dditional review, and launched full investigations into 33 of those matter=. Under federal regulations, the inspector general's office=can ask the deputy attorney general for permission to open an ethics inves=igation. That process "leaves the decision entirely to the departm=nt leadership and, in any event, requiring the OIG to seek the department=E2 s permission before undertaking an investigation compromises our i=dependence," Horowitz wrote. Sens. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Jo= Tester, D-Mont., introduced legislation in March <http://www.lee.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/20=4/3/lee-tester-introduce-bill-to-ensure-proper-investigations-at-doj> EFTA_R1_01648763 EFTA02514791 to remove the referral requirement, giving the inspector general =80 s office full authority to initiate attorney misconduct investigation=. The Senate Judiciary Committee has yet to act on the bill. Lawmak=rs and the inspector general's office have credited the recent pus= on ethics and transparency to a report published earlier this year <http://www.pogo.org/our-work/r=ports/2014/hundreds-of-justice-attorneys- violated-standards.html> by the Project on Government Oversight. The study identified hundred= of ethics violations by DOJ attorneys and was critical of the lack of tra=sparency surrounding the Office of Professional Responsibility's i=vestigations. A Justice Department representative could not immedia=ely be reached for comment. The inspector general's report =dentified seven overarching challenges facing the department: upholding pu=lic integrity, which included the issues with misconduct investigations; t=e state of the federal prison system; the balancing of civil liberties wit= national security concerns; enhancing cybersecurity; using a performance-=ased management system; oversight of law enforcement programs; and protect=ng taxpayer money. please =ote The information contained in this communication is confiden=ial, may be attorney-client privileged, may constitute inside informati=n, and is intended only for the use of the addressee. It is the propert= of JEE Unauthorized use, disclosure or copying of this communica=ion or any part thereof is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. If =ou have received this communication in error, please notify us immediatrly by return e-mail or by e-mail to jeevacation@gmail.com <mailto:jeevacation@gmail=com> , and destroy this comm=nication and all copies thereof, including all attachments. copyright -=11 rights reserved 2 EFTA_M_01648764 EFTA02514792