Whistleblowers Beware - They’re Out To Get All of Us
Investigators in IG Office Were Told Not to Cooperate With Probe of Their Boss, House Panel Alleges By Glenn Kessler and Karen DeYoung Washington PostTwo career investigators in the office of State Department Inspector General Howard J. Krongard have charged that they were threatened with firing if they cooperated with a congressional probe of Krongard and his office.
Told by Terry P. Heide, Krongard’s congressional liaison, that he should not agree to a request for a “voluntary” interview by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Special Agent Ron Militana said he was then advised that reprisals could be taken against him. “Howard can fire you,” he said Heide told him. “It would affect your ability to get another job.”
State Department Inspector General Howard J. Krongard
Militana said in a telephone interview yesterday that he took that comment and others as direct threats. He and Assistant Special Agent in Charge Brian Rubendall, another career investigator who was also present at the Sept. 25 meeting with Heide and an IG lawyer, are among at least four IG investigators who have sought protection under the Whistleblower Protection Act. They also include the assistant inspector general for investigations and his deputy, who recently resigned after charging Krongard with impeding their work.
In recent weeks, the agents relayed their concerns about Krongard to Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.), chairman of the oversight panel. Waxman has said he is investigating allegations that Krongard has repeatedly thwarted investigations into alleged contracting fraud in Iraq and Afghanistan, including construction of the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and weapons smuggling allegations against Blackwater USA, a private security firm working under government contract in Iraq. The committee has scheduled a hearing on Oct. 16.
Waxman first revealed the details of the meeting in which Militana and Rubendall said they were threatened in a letter he sent yesterday to Krongard and posted on the committee’s Web site. “I am appalled by these reports,” Waxman wrote. “As an Inspector General, you hold a position of special trust within the federal government. Your office is supposed to be an example of how to protect whistleblowers, not an example of how to persecute them.”
The Senate confirmed President Bush’s nomination of Krongard, who had no previous State Department experience, in May 2005. He previously worked for an international law firm and had been general counsel for Deloitte & Touche in the mid-1990s. His brother, A.B. “Buzzy” Krongard, served as the No. 3 CIA official under then-Director George J. Tenet.
State Department contracts in Iraq became a target for Waxman when he became chairman of the oversight committee in January. Krongard’s operations have been the subject of several hearings. In a 13-page letter to Krongard on Sept. 18, Waxman charged that the inspector general had “interfered with ongoing investigations to protect the State Department and the White House from political embarrassment.”
The letter, which Waxman said was based on allegations by seven current and former members of Krongard’s staff, alleged that Krongard had refused to send investigators to Iraq and Afghanistan to investigate $3 billion worth of State Department contracts and had impeded a Justice Department probe into the construction of the embassy in Baghdad. It also included an internal e-mail that indicated Krongard had intervened to stop his office from cooperating with a Justice Department investigation into alleged arms smuggling by Blackwater. In a North Carolina case, two Blackwater employees have pleaded guilty to weapons charges and are cooperating with Justice officials.
With all the crimes and corruption mounting against the legion of crooks that BushCo has put in charge of this country, where is the law and order to stop them? Repubs accuse Demwits of “slow bleed” while they “fast bleed” the American taxpayer. Their magic show will succeed in sawing this nation in half without our applause. The clueless among us will look up soon and say “what the hell happened” while those of us hollering warnings at the top of our lungs are dropping from exhaustion. The terrible reality is that these offenses are happening right before our eyes and it seems we are helpless to do anything about it. Those who speak up are beaten down and threatened. The fascist state is here. Take your pills and be happy little zombies …
September 29th, 2007 at 10:03 pm
All they care about in Comrade Chimpy’s Politburo is your political reliability. As long as you praise the leader and sing the Chimpy songs, you’ll be fine.