April 1, 2001 – September 30, 2001
Office of the Inspector General

THE OFFICE OF OVERSIGHT AND REVIEW

The Office of Oversight and Review (O&R) – formerly the Special Investigations and Review Unit – is composed of attorneys, special agents, program analysts, and administrative personnel. O&R investigates sensitive allegations involving Department employees, often at the request of the Attorney General, senior Department managers, or Congress. O&R also conducts systemic reviews of Department programs, such as a review of the BOP’s system of monitoring inmates’ use of prison telephones.

Significant Activities

• In May 2001, federal prosecutors informed attorneys for Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols, who had been convicted for crimes arising from the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, that more than 700 documents and other materials relating to the FBI’s investigation had not been disclosed to the defense before trial. The government conceded that the failure to disclose the documents violated a discovery agreement in place at the time of the defendants’ trials. The belated disclosure of documents led to widespread media attention and accusations that the government had intentionally failed to provide exculpatory material to the defendants. The Attorney General asked the OIG to investigate the belated disclosure of the materials, and the OIG assembled an 11-person team consisting of attorneys, special agents, auditors, and support personnel. Within four months, the team conducted more than 180 interviews, reviewed thousands of documents, and conducted on-site investigations at 13 FBI field offices. The OIG is currently drafting its report of investigation.

• The OIG has received an increasing number of complaints by FBI personnel alleging violations of the whistleblower regulations. During this reporting period, O&R investigated and closed two such whistleblower matters. In one, the OIG found that a senior FBI manager retaliated against a special agent by threatening to change aspects of the special agent’s job. The threats were made after the special agent had complained that the manager had given improper instructions for completing time and attendance records. In the second matter, the OIG did not find that FBI managers retaliated against a senior FBI official.

• O&R completed its investigation of an allegation that DEA officials improperly closed a criminal investigation due to political pressure and that a DEA official made false statements to a congressional committee. The OIG did not substantiate the allegation that the DEA’s criminal case was closed because of political pressure. We concluded that a senior manager in the DEA field office unilaterally curtailed the investigation without properly analyzing the situation or fully considering the consequences of his decision before acting. We also concluded that the manager’s statements to the committee were incomplete and misleading.

• O&R concluded its investigation concerning the kidnapping of an AUSA. In May 2000, the AUSA, attending a training conference in Kiev, Ukraine, was kidnapped and drugged, and several thousand dollars of unauthorized charges were made to his credit cards. As a result of O&R’s investigation, the OIG concluded that the AUSA had used extremely poor judgment, had acted unprofessionally, and had placed himself in a vulnerable position while in Kiev. The OIG also concluded that discipline of the AUSA was not handled appropriately and that the USAO and the EOUSA had failed to notify the OIG and the Department’s security office of the incident in a timely manner.

• O&R investigated two matters involving employee conflicts of interest, one in the Civil Rights Division and another in the Antitrust Division. In both cases, the OIG did not find that the employees violated the conflict of interest regulations. However, dhe OIG concluded that the employees should have consulted with ethics officials in their divisions.

Ongoing Reviews

• At the request of the Attorney General and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, the OIG is examining the Department’s performance in preventing, detecting, and investigating the espionage activities of former FBI agent Robert Philip Hanssen. To conduct its review, the OIG has assembled a team of approximately 10 attorneys, investigators, and analysts. To date, the OIG has obtained from the FBI more than 100,000 pages of documents related to this investigation.

• O&R has initiated a follow-up review to its 1999 report examining the BOP’s management of inmate telephone privileges. In that report, the OIG found a significant problem with federal inmates using prison telephones to commit serious crimes while incarcerated. We also found that BOP management had taken insufficient steps to address the problem, and we made numerous recommendations for corrective action. In this follow-up review, we will evaluate BOP’s response to the OIG report. O&R is currently evaluating responses to an OIG survey about monitoring inmate telephone use that was sent to all BOP institutions.

• O&R continues to investigate FBI whistleblower matters. In one ongoing case, O&R is investigating a claim of retaliation as well as a claim that the FBI practices a “double standard” whereby senior level executives are disciplined less harshly than other personnel.