Shooting the Messenger?

Remember the recent report which claimed millions of dollars of waste in the reconstruction efforts in Iraq?

Well, the man who headed the team which came up with the report, Stuart W. Bowen, Jr., is, according to The New York Times, now under investigation himself, being investigated by the "President’s Council on Integrity and Efficiency, an organization that was specifically created to investigate allegations of misconduct by inspectors general at federal agencies," as well as by the ranking Republican on the House Government Reform Committee, Mr. Thomas M. Davis III, of Virginia.

Even though Bowen is a Republican, operatives have ferreted out some "whistleblowers" to complain about some of his actions.

Two "money quotes" from the Times' story: 1) One of the former employees who filed the complaint, who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of concern that he would face reprisals, agreed that all of those who brought the misconduct accusations had been unhappy with demotions, terminations or other sanctions during their time in the inspector general’s office.

2) “I think probably in each case, yes,” the former employee said. “Some were outright fired, and some were demoted.”
Even so, he said, all of them believed that they had seen numerous instances of genuine misconduct during their time in the office.

OK. Maybe. Representative Henry Waxman and Senator Olympia Snowe both support the investigation because the allegations of misconduct were made. That being said, they both indicate the process should proceed with some dispatch.

It smells of retribution, but that doesn't necessarily mean it is retribution.

We'll see.

Trust, but verify.

Republicans
Bush Administration
Stuart Bowen

Sphere: Related Content