Post by the Scribe on Apr 9, 2020 0:24:43 GMT
Here we go again. Conservatives HATE oversight and regulation. Watch them PUMP these monies into the coffers of the wealthy 1% INSTEAD of to the intended recipients. But this is what Conservatives and Republicons do. It is difficult to rip off the taxpayers when old eagle eyed inspector general is breathing down your neck watching your every move. Can't have that. Why do you think Trump has hidden his taxes for so long?
In Another Pushback Against Oversight, Trump Removes Pandemic Inspector General
April 7, 20205:32 PM ET
Heard on Morning Edition
www.npr.org/2020/04/07/829136780/in-another-pushback-against-oversight-trump-removes-pandemic-inspector-general
LISTEN ondemand.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/me/2020/04/20200408_me_in_another_pushback_against_oversight_trump_removes_pandemic_inspector_general.mp3?orgId=1&topicId=1150&aggIds=812054919&d=222&p=3&story=829136780&siteplayer=true&size=3557844&dl=1
Glenn Fine, then acting inspector general at the Department of Defense, testifies during a 2017 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. Fine was the defense department's acting inspector general until April 6, when President Trump replaced him.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images
President Trump has removed the head of a group 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.
Fine has worked under both Republican and Democratic administrations, serving for more than a decade as the inspector general at the Department of Justice. He joined the Department of Defense's Office of Inspector General in 2015.
In a statement, Rep. Carolyn Maloney of New York, the Democrat who chairs the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, called Fine's removal "a direct insult to the American taxpayers," adding that Trump's "actions are a blatant attempt to degrade the independence of Inspectors General who serve as checks against waste, fraud, and abuse."
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump has bristled at the oversight actions of several inspectors general during his presidency. This featured prominently over the past week, including with the firing of Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson on Friday.
Atkinson pushed back, saying in a statement late Sunday that his actions were in keeping with the federal whistleblower law.
"It is hard not to think that the President's loss of confidence in me derives from my having faithfully discharged my legal obligations as an independent and impartial Inspector General," said Atkinson, who received a whistleblower complaint in August 2019 about allegedly improper commitments made by Trump to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The complaint eventually led to an impeachment inquiry, then the acquittal of the president in an impeachment trial.
The president has also criticized inspector general findings at the Department of Health and Human Services. A report published Monday found that hospitals are struggling to properly source supplies in response to the coronavirus crisis, and were facing delays in COVID-19 testing.
The president said that complaints about delays in test results were "wrong" and suggested that the inspector general was politically motivated.
Trump removes watchdog tapped for $2T virus rescue oversight
www.krqe.com/news/politics/trump-sidelines-watchdog-tapped-for-virus-rescue-oversight/
President Donald Trump speaks about the coronavirus in the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House, Monday, April 6, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has removed the inspector general tapped to chair a special oversight board for the $2.2 trillion economic relief package on the coronavirus, the latest in a series of steps Trump has taken to confront government watchdogs tasked with oversight of the executive branch.
In the past four days, Trump has fired one inspector general tied to his impeachment, castigated another he felt was overly critical of the coronavirus response and sidelined a third meant to safeguard against wasteful spending of funds for businesses in economic distress.
“We’re seeing since Friday a wrecking ball across the IG community,” said Danielle Brian, executive director of the Project on Government Oversight, a watchdog group. On Friday, Trump fired Michael Atkinson, the inspector general of the intelligence community, and on Monday assailed a health and human services official who criticized the administration’s response to the coronavirus crisis.
On Tuesday, Trump removed Glenn Fine, the acting Defense Department inspector general and a veteran watchdog who had been selected by peers last month to oversee the economic aid package. Now it’s unclear who will oversee the rescue law.
Trump’s latest move threatens to upend the rigorous oversight that Democrats in Congress demanded for the huge sums of money being pumped into the American economy because of the virus.
It’s also part of a broader conflict between Trump, a president averse to outside criticism, and the watchdog community tasked with identifying mismanagement and problems inside government agencies.
Trump’s actions “only undermine the effectiveness of the pandemic response” legislation and the ability of inspectors general to do their job, Brian said.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi criticized Trump’s removal of Fine, saying he is moving to “undermine oversight.” And Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer swiftly condemned Trump’s action.
“President Trump is abusing the coronavirus pandemic to eliminate honest and independent public servants because they are willing to speak truth to power and because he is so clearly afraid of strong oversight,” Schumer said in a statement.
Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who led Trump’s impeachment and subsequent Senate prosecution, told The Associated Press that Trump’s actions were “designed to neuter any kind of oversight of his actions and that of the administration during a time of national crisis, when trillions of dollars are being allocated to help the American people.”
Trump’s removal of Fine follows his late-night firingon Friday of Michael Atkinson, the intelligence community inspector general who forwarded to Congress a whistleblower complaint that ultimately led to the president’s impeachment in the House.
On Monday, the president also publicly condemned the acting Health and Human Services watchdog over a survey of hospitals about the coronavirus response.
Trump has bristled at the oversight of the coronavirus law, suggesting in a statement last month that some of the mandates from Congress were unconstitutional.
“I’ll be the oversight,” Trump declared as lawmakers were finalizing the rescue plan.
He has also drawn criticism for naming a White House lawyer to a new Treasury Department position overseeing $500 billion in coronavirus aid to industry.
Michael Horowitz, the Justice Department inspector general and chair of a council of watchdogs, had moved quickly last month to appoint Fine the head of the new coronavirus oversight board.
But Fine will no longer be able to serve in the role because Trump has nominated a replacement inspector general at the Pentagon and appointed an acting one to serve in Fine’s place, according to an email from an assistant Defense Department inspector general that was obtained by The Associated Press.
The demotion disqualifies Fine from serving on the oversight board, which was created by Congress to be the nexus of oversight for coronavirus funding. He will instead revert to the position of principal deputy inspector general.
House Oversight and Reform Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., said Trump’s actions are a “direct insult” to American taxpayers.
“President Trump has been engaged in an assault against independent Inspectors General since last Friday in order to undermine oversight of his chaotic and deficient response to the coronavirus crisis,” Maloney said.
Republican Sen. Charles Grassley, a longtime whistleblower advocate, tweeted at Trump not to view inspectors general as critics, though he didn’t mention Fine by name. He said the officials hold the federal bureaucracy accountable.
In Another Pushback Against Oversight, Trump Removes Pandemic Inspector General
April 7, 20205:32 PM ET
Heard on Morning Edition
www.npr.org/2020/04/07/829136780/in-another-pushback-against-oversight-trump-removes-pandemic-inspector-general
LISTEN ondemand.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/me/2020/04/20200408_me_in_another_pushback_against_oversight_trump_removes_pandemic_inspector_general.mp3?orgId=1&topicId=1150&aggIds=812054919&d=222&p=3&story=829136780&siteplayer=true&size=3557844&dl=1
Glenn Fine, then acting inspector general at the Department of Defense, testifies during a 2017 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. Fine was the defense department's acting inspector general until April 6, when President Trump replaced him.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images
President Trump has removed the head of a group 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.
Justice Watchdog Looks Back On 10 Years
LAW www.npr.org/2011/01/28/133272339/justice-watchdog-looks-back-on-10-years-in-post
Justice Watchdog Looks Back On 10 Years In Post
LAW www.npr.org/2011/01/28/133272339/justice-watchdog-looks-back-on-10-years-in-post
Justice Watchdog Looks Back On 10 Years In Post
Fired Intel Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson Pushes Back On His Dismissal
POLITICS www.npr.org/2020/04/03/827195027/president-trump-fires-intelligence-community-inspector-general-michael-atkinson
Fired Intel Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson Pushes Back On His Dismissal
POLITICS www.npr.org/2020/04/03/827195027/president-trump-fires-intelligence-community-inspector-general-michael-atkinson
Fired Intel Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson Pushes Back On His Dismissal
Fine has worked under both Republican and Democratic administrations, serving for more than a decade as the inspector general at the Department of Justice. He joined the Department of Defense's Office of Inspector General in 2015.
In a statement, Rep. Carolyn Maloney of New York, the Democrat who chairs the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, called Fine's removal "a direct insult to the American taxpayers," adding that Trump's "actions are a blatant attempt to degrade the independence of Inspectors General who serve as checks against waste, fraud, and abuse."
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump has bristled at the oversight actions of several inspectors general during his presidency. This featured prominently over the past week, including with the firing of Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson on Friday.
Atkinson pushed back, saying in a statement late Sunday that his actions were in keeping with the federal whistleblower law.
"It is hard not to think that the President's loss of confidence in me derives from my having faithfully discharged my legal obligations as an independent and impartial Inspector General," said Atkinson, who received a whistleblower complaint in August 2019 about allegedly improper commitments made by Trump to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The complaint eventually led to an impeachment inquiry, then the acquittal of the president in an impeachment trial.
The president has also criticized inspector general findings at the Department of Health and Human Services. A report published Monday found that hospitals are struggling to properly source supplies in response to the coronavirus crisis, and were facing delays in COVID-19 testing.
The president said that complaints about delays in test results were "wrong" and suggested that the inspector general was politically motivated.
Trump removes watchdog tapped for $2T virus rescue oversight
www.krqe.com/news/politics/trump-sidelines-watchdog-tapped-for-virus-rescue-oversight/
President Donald Trump speaks about the coronavirus in the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House, Monday, April 6, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has removed the inspector general tapped to chair a special oversight board for the $2.2 trillion economic relief package on the coronavirus, the latest in a series of steps Trump has taken to confront government watchdogs tasked with oversight of the executive branch.
In the past four days, Trump has fired one inspector general tied to his impeachment, castigated another he felt was overly critical of the coronavirus response and sidelined a third meant to safeguard against wasteful spending of funds for businesses in economic distress.
“We’re seeing since Friday a wrecking ball across the IG community,” said Danielle Brian, executive director of the Project on Government Oversight, a watchdog group. On Friday, Trump fired Michael Atkinson, the inspector general of the intelligence community, and on Monday assailed a health and human services official who criticized the administration’s response to the coronavirus crisis.
On Tuesday, Trump removed Glenn Fine, the acting Defense Department inspector general and a veteran watchdog who had been selected by peers last month to oversee the economic aid package. Now it’s unclear who will oversee the rescue law.
Trump’s latest move threatens to upend the rigorous oversight that Democrats in Congress demanded for the huge sums of money being pumped into the American economy because of the virus.
It’s also part of a broader conflict between Trump, a president averse to outside criticism, and the watchdog community tasked with identifying mismanagement and problems inside government agencies.
Trump’s actions “only undermine the effectiveness of the pandemic response” legislation and the ability of inspectors general to do their job, Brian said.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi criticized Trump’s removal of Fine, saying he is moving to “undermine oversight.” And Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer swiftly condemned Trump’s action.
“President Trump is abusing the coronavirus pandemic to eliminate honest and independent public servants because they are willing to speak truth to power and because he is so clearly afraid of strong oversight,” Schumer said in a statement.
Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who led Trump’s impeachment and subsequent Senate prosecution, told The Associated Press that Trump’s actions were “designed to neuter any kind of oversight of his actions and that of the administration during a time of national crisis, when trillions of dollars are being allocated to help the American people.”
Trump’s removal of Fine follows his late-night firingon Friday of Michael Atkinson, the intelligence community inspector general who forwarded to Congress a whistleblower complaint that ultimately led to the president’s impeachment in the House.
On Monday, the president also publicly condemned the acting Health and Human Services watchdog over a survey of hospitals about the coronavirus response.
Trump has bristled at the oversight of the coronavirus law, suggesting in a statement last month that some of the mandates from Congress were unconstitutional.
“I’ll be the oversight,” Trump declared as lawmakers were finalizing the rescue plan.
He has also drawn criticism for naming a White House lawyer to a new Treasury Department position overseeing $500 billion in coronavirus aid to industry.
Michael Horowitz, the Justice Department inspector general and chair of a council of watchdogs, had moved quickly last month to appoint Fine the head of the new coronavirus oversight board.
But Fine will no longer be able to serve in the role because Trump has nominated a replacement inspector general at the Pentagon and appointed an acting one to serve in Fine’s place, according to an email from an assistant Defense Department inspector general that was obtained by The Associated Press.
The demotion disqualifies Fine from serving on the oversight board, which was created by Congress to be the nexus of oversight for coronavirus funding. He will instead revert to the position of principal deputy inspector general.
House Oversight and Reform Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., said Trump’s actions are a “direct insult” to American taxpayers.
“President Trump has been engaged in an assault against independent Inspectors General since last Friday in order to undermine oversight of his chaotic and deficient response to the coronavirus crisis,” Maloney said.
Republican Sen. Charles Grassley, a longtime whistleblower advocate, tweeted at Trump not to view inspectors general as critics, though he didn’t mention Fine by name. He said the officials hold the federal bureaucracy accountable.