The Washington Post reports today that there is a new allegation of whistleblower retaliation against the Commerce inspector general’s office. Commerce IG Todd Zinser has been under fire since the Office of Special Counsel in 2013 determined that two of Zinser’s trusted allies — his counsel Wade Green and longtime friend Rick Beitel, the principal
On March 31, I posted a blog entitled “House Investigation Reveals Commerce IG’s Pattern of Retaliation Against Whistleblowers,” reporting the findings of a two-year investigation by the House Subcommittee on Investigations & Oversight Committee on Science, Space & Technology. The investigation found that Department of Commerce’s Inspector General Todd Zinser and his closest staff had “over a period of many years engaged in efforts to identify and retaliate against whistleblowers in his office.”
On March 26, Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson, Ranking Member, delivered a floor statement that laid out the findings of the investigation. Subsequently, on March 31, Rep. Johnson sent a letter to President Obama stating, “I am convinced that in order to establish an effective and ethically sound office, a wholesale change in the top leadership of the Commerce Office of Inspector General is critically needed.”
On April 9, the National Whistleblower Center joined together with other whistleblower advocacy groups calling on the President to remove Zinser from his position. In a letter sent to the White House, the National Whistleblower Center, the Project on Government Oversight, and the Government Accountability raised concerns over the serious allegations revealed by Rep. Johnson and the Committee against Zinser.
Continue Reading Whistleblower Advocacy Groups Call for Removal of Commerce IG Zinser
The House Subcommittee on Investigations & Oversight Committee on Science, Space & Technology opened an investigation two years ago on Commerce Inspector General Todd Zinser and his management of his office. On March 26, Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson, Ranking Member, delivered a floor statement that laid out the findings of the investigation.
The Washington Post reported on Rep. Johnson’s remarks in the article Lawmaker seeks ouster of Commerce Department inspector general. The article only covered some of the issues outlined in Ms. Johnson’s extended statement.
The Washington Post article did not include some of the most recent issues regarding the Commerce Office of Inspector General’s retaliation against whistleblowers, or the details surrounding the office’s monitoring of employee e-mails or IG Zinser’s personal efforts to obstruct the Committee’s investigation.
Continue Reading House Investigation Reveals Commerce IG’s Pattern of Retaliation Against Whistleblowers