Department of Justice (DOJ) Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz announced today that the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) will treat the working draft report of its review of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) contract administration for a certain classified national security program, issued to the FBI on January 22, 2020, as a management advisory to the FBI. The objectives of the review were to assess the FBI’s awarding and administration of the contracts for a certain national security program, and to evaluate the FBI’s procedures and processes for ensuring contractor performance and compliance with the terms, conditions, laws, and regulations applicable to these contracts. The working draft report contained 11 recommendations to the FBI. The FBI provided oral and written comments to the OIG on the working draft report and its 11 recommendations in January and March 2020. The entire working draft report was marked as Top Secret, pending classification review by the FBI.
The classification marking of the working draft report, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and associated restrictions on official government travel, and the unavailability to the OIG of secure video conferencing capability have impacted the OIG’s ability to complete this review. Therefore, the OIG has decided to conclude its work on this review, notified the FBI that the working draft report will be treated as a management advisory to the FBI, and specified that the 11 recommendations that we previously identified in our working draft report will be part of the management advisory. The OIG recognizes based on our discussion at the exit conference and the FBI’s written comments that concerns remain about the specific language of some of the OIG’s 11 recommendations. Considering the unusual circumstances affecting this review, we will work with the FBI to ensure that each of these recommendations can be addressed consistent with the original intent of the recommendation and the FBI’s ability to reasonably implement corrective actions.