EPA’s Dept Of Homeland Security Blocking Investigations

07 May, 2014 by William Teach

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In other news, the Environmental Protection Agency has a Dept Of Homeland Security. Seriously? Seriously. You can’t blame this on Obama, the department was formed in 2003 under Christie Todd Whitman while Bush 43 was president, and just seems typical of a complete government over-reach, even in the time shortly after September 11. Of course, Team Obama is using it for political purposes

(Fox News) The Environmental Protection Agency’s little-known Office of Homeland Security has illegally blocked investigations by an independent watchdog for years, an inspector with the agency’s Office of Inspector General will tell Congress Wednesday.

Patrick Sullivan, the assistant EPA inspector general for investigations, is expected to testify Wednesday before a House oversight committee about the activities of the Office of Homeland Security, a unit run by President Obama’s political staff.

The office of about 10 employees is overseen by EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy’s office, and the inspector general’s office is accusing it of operating illegally as a “rogue law enforcement agency” that has impeded independent investigations into employee misconduct, computer security and external threats, including compelling employees involved in cases to sign non-disclosure agreements.

Hooray! Most ethical and transparent administration ever!

“Under the heavy cloak of ‘national security,’ the Office of Homeland Security has repeatedly rebuffed and refused to cooperate with the OIG’s ongoing requests for information or cooperation,” Sullivan wrote in prepared testimony. “This block unquestionably has hamstrung the Office of Inspector General’s ability to carry out its statutory mandate to investigate wrongdoing of EPA employees.”

That’s right, they’re claiming they need to block misconduct investigations under the guise of “national security”. The EPA. Should we be shocked that the EPA under Obama is acting in this manner? No.

The Obama administration is withholding the full contents of a “media strategy” discussion over a Fox News report on Benghazi, claiming that releasing them would have a chilling effect on their “frank deliberations.”

The seven-page email chain was in reference to a Fox News report on Sept. 27, 2012, that the intelligence community knew within 24 hours that Benghazi was a terrorist attack.

If you work in the private sector, you operate under multiple federal and state laws which mandate email retention and compliance with government agencies, including Sarbanes-Oxley, the Patriot Act, HIPAA, and the CAN-SPAM Act, among many others. If the Government comes calling, you cannot block legal investigations nor withhold email. Hey, must be nice to be the king.

Crossed at Pirate’s Cove. Follow me on Twitter @WilliamTeach.