Final Review of Expenses from the Department of Justice Permanent Indefinite Appropriation Covering the 7-Month Period Ending September 30, 2009
Gao ID: GAO-10-524R March 31, 2010This report presents the results of our review of the expenses paid from the Department of Justice (DOJ) permanent, indefinite appropriation covering the 7- month period ending September 30, 2009. The expenses we reviewed were those paid out of the permanent, indefinite appropriation by DOJ between March 1, 2009, and September 30, 2009, to cover Independent and Special Counsel administrative activities. With the October 2009 repeal of the requirement for a GAO review and report on such expenses, this represents our final report.
Our review of the expenses on behalf of Special Counsel Fitzgerald covering the 7 months ending September 30, 2009, found that DOJ processed and paid expenses totaling $55,433. The expenses consisted of personnel compensation and benefits, travel and lodging, and contractual services. We found that all expenses were supported by appropriate documentation and were properly authorized, approved, and recorded. For the period of our review, personnel compensation and benefits of employees assigned to assist with the archival of the special counsel case files totaled $7,181. The special counsel also incurred travel expenses of $7,049 to assist with the archival of the case files. In addition, the special counsel incurred contractual service expenses totaling $41,978 related to payments to a vendor assisting with the archival process. During our review, we also found several credits totaling $775 related to reversals of National Finance Center payroll processing fees that DOJ erroneously charged to the special counsel. We determined that all credits were supported by appropriate documentation. Our tests for compliance with selected provisions of laws and regulations disclosed no instances of noncompliance with respect to the expenses processed and paid by DOJ that would be reportable under U.S. generally accepted government auditing standards. On September 15, 2009, the AOUSC requested reimbursement of $65,781 for expenses related to the formerly active independent counsels. According to the AOUSC, the vast majority of this amount related to expenses that the AOUSC had previously paid on behalf of Independent Counsel Barrett but for which the AOUSC was not previously reimbursed. However, the AOUSC was unable to provide us with detailed support for these expenses.
GAO-10-524R, Final Review of Expenses from the Department of Justice Permanent Indefinite Appropriation Covering the 7-Month Period Ending September 30, 2009
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Permanent Indefinite Appropriation Covering the 7-Month Period Ending
September 30, 2009' which was released on March 31, 2010.
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GAO-10-524R:
United States Government Accountability Office:
Washington, DC 20548:
March 31, 2010:
The Honorable Daniel K. Inouye:
Chairman:
The Honorable Thad Cochran:
Vice Chairman:
Committee on Appropriations:
United States Senate:
The Honorable David R. Obey:
Chairman:
The Honorable Jerry Lewis:
Ranking Member:
Committee on Appropriations:
House of Representatives:
Subject: Final Review of Expenses from the Department of Justice
Permanent Indefinite Appropriation Covering the 7-Month Period Ending
September 30, 2009:
This report presents the results of our review of the expenses paid
from the Department of Justice (DOJ) permanent, indefinite
appropriation covering the 7-month period ending September 30, 2009.
The expenses we reviewed were those paid out of the permanent,
indefinite appropriation by DOJ between March 1, 2009, and September
30, 2009, to cover Independent and Special Counsel administrative
activities. With the October 2009 repeal of the requirement for a GAO
review and report on such expenses, this represents our final report.
Background:
The independent counsel law directed DOJ to pay all costs related to
the establishment and operation of any office of independent counsel.
[Footnote 1] A permanent, indefinite appropriation was established by
Public Law 100-202[Footnote 2] within DOJ to pay all necessary
expenses for investigations and prosecutions by independent counsels
appointed pursuant to the independent counsel law or other law.
Subsequent to the termination of the independent counsel law, DOJ
determined that the permanent, indefinite appropriation is available
to fund the expenditures of U.S. Attorney Patrick J. Fitzgerald, who
was appointed as a special counsel within DOJ by the then Acting
Attorney General.[Footnote 3]
On December 30, 2003, the then-Acting Attorney General appointed U.S.
Attorney Fitzgerald as a Special Counsel to investigate whether
officials of the George W. Bush administration illegally disclosed the
identity of an undercover Central Intelligence Agency officer. In
March 2007, after a jury trial, an administration official was
convicted of perjury, lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation,
and obstruction of justice in the investigation. In July 2007, the
President of the United States commuted the prison term imposed by the
sentencing judge upon the administration official. The administration
official dropped his appeal of his convictions in December 2007. The
activities of the special counsel were, for all practical purposes,
concluded as of March 2008. However, the office of the special counsel
remained open to respond to congressional requests for information.
The office began archiving case files during the 7-month period ending
September 30, 2009.
Under Public Law 100-202, we were required to perform semiannual
financial reviews of expenses paid from the fund and report our
findings to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees. To satisfy
this requirement, we reviewed expenses processed by DOJ and paid out
of the permanent, indefinite appropriation to determine whether they
were properly authorized and approved, supported by appropriate
documentation, recorded accurately, and made in accordance with
selected provisions of laws and regulations. On October 1, 2009,
Public Law 111-68, Division A, section 1501(d), repealed the
requirement for GAO's semiannual review and report. Specifically,
section 1501(d) provided that GAO is no longer required to perform a
semiannual review of expenses paid from the permanent, indefinite
appropriation effective October 1, 2009. Consequently, we are issuing
this final review under our general authority to report on the use of
public funds in order to (1) report on the 7-month period ending
September 30, 2009, that would have been covered under the repealed
mandate, and (2) provide notice of the cessation of our reviews.
The independent counsel law also designates specific responsibilities
to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (AOUSC) for the
administrative support of independent counsels. DOJ periodically
disbursed lump-sum payments to AOUSC for this purpose.
As ordered by the Special Division, the Office of Independent Counsel
Barrett--the last independent counsel office--was terminated on May 3,
2006. After that date, the AOUSC continued to perform its
administrative responsibilities. There have been no independent
counsels in operation since May 3, 2006. However, there was one active
special counsel.
Results of Our Review:
Expenses Related to Special Counsel Fitzgerald:
Our review of the expenses on behalf of Special Counsel Fitzgerald
covering the 7 months ending September 30, 2009, found that DOJ
processed and paid expenses totaling $55,433. The expenses consisted
of personnel compensation and benefits, travel and lodging, and
contractual services. We found that all expenses were supported by
appropriate documentation and were properly authorized, approved, and
recorded. A breakdown of expenses incurred related to the office of
Special Counsel Fitzgerald's for the 7 months ended September 30,
2009, is presented in table 1 below.
Table 1: Special Counsel Fitzgerald Office's Expenses for the 7 Months
Ended September 30, 2009:
Description: Personnel compensation and benefits;
Amount: $7,181.
Description: Travel and lodging;
Amount: $7,049.
Description: Contractual services;
Amount: $41,978.
Description: Credits for payroll processing fee reversals;
Amount: ($775).
Description: Total;
Amount: $55,433.
Source: DOJ Financial Management Information System.
[End of table]
For the period of our review, personnel compensation and benefits of
employees assigned to assist with the archival of the special counsel
case files totaled $7,181. The special counsel also incurred travel
expenses of $7,049 to assist with the archival of the case files. In
addition, the special counsel incurred contractual service expenses
totaling $41,978 related to payments to a vendor assisting with the
archival process.
During our review, we also found several credits totaling $775 related
to reversals of National Finance Center payroll processing fees that
DOJ erroneously charged to the special counsel. We determined that all
credits were supported by appropriate documentation.
Our tests for compliance with selected provisions of laws and
regulations disclosed no instances of noncompliance with respect to
the expenses processed and paid by DOJ that would be reportable under
U.S. generally accepted government auditing standards.
Expenses Related to Closed Independent Counsels:
On September 15, 2009, the AOUSC requested reimbursement of $65,781
for expenses related to the formerly active independent counsels.
According to the AOUSC, the vast majority of this amount related to
expenses that the AOUSC had previously paid on behalf of Independent
Counsel Barrett but for which the AOUSC was not previously reimbursed.
However, the AOUSC was unable to provide us with detailed support for
these expenses.
Objectives, Scope, and Methodology:
Our objectives were to determine whether the expenses processed by DOJ
and paid out of the permanent, indefinite appropriation for the 7-
month period ending September 30, 2009, were properly authorized and
approved, supported by appropriate documentation, recorded accurately,
and made in accordance with selected provisions of laws and
regulations.
To perform our review, we obtained expense data files from DOJ and
traced the recorded expenses to supporting documentation including
payroll records, travel vouchers, and invoices. We reviewed all
expenses paid out of the permanent, indefinite appropriation between
March 1, 2009, and September 30, 2009, for proper authorization and
approval to determine whether they were supported by appropriate
documentation and recorded accurately by DOJ. We also reviewed
expenses to determine whether they were made in accordance with
selected provisions of Title 5 of the United States Code, the Prompt
Payment Act, and selected provisions related to pay administration and
travel regulations. We were not required to, nor did we test, the
appropriateness of the expenses.
We conducted this performance audit from January 2010, through March
2010, in accordance with generally accepted government auditing
standards. Those standards require that we plan and perform the review
to obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable
basis for our findings and conclusions based on our review objectives.
We believe that the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for
our findings and conclusions based on our review objectives. We
provided a draft of this correspondence to the Department of Justice,
Justice Management Division, and Special Counsel Fitzgerald. These
entities agreed with the facts and conclusions presented in our draft
correspondence.
We are sending copies of this report to the Chairman and Ranking
Members of the Senate and House Committees on Appropriations, the
Attorney General, the Special Counsel, and other interested parties.
In addition, this correspondence is available at no cost on GAO's Web
site at [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov]. Please contact me at (202)
512-3406 or sebastians@gao.gov if you or your staff have any questions
concerning this correspondence. Contact points for our Offices of
Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be found on the last
page of this correspondence. GAO staff who made major contributions to
this correspondence are Julie Phillips, Assistant Director; Vivian
Gutierrez; and Richard Cambosos.
Signed by:
Steven J. Sebastian:
Director:
Financial Management and Assurance:
[End of section]
Footnotes:
[1] 28 U.S.C. § 594(d)(2).
[2] The permanent, indefinite appropriation was established by Pub. L.
No. 100-202, § 101(a), title II, 101 Stat. 1329, 1329-9 (Dec. 22,
1987), 28 U.S.C. § 591 note.
[3] We reviewed the legal authority for the Department of Justice to
use the permanent, indefinite appropriation to fund the expenses
relating to Special Counsel Fitzgerald's investigation and, in our
opinion to the Chairmen of the House and Senate Appropriations
Committees, concluded that such use was not an illegal, improper, or
unauthorized use of the appropriation. B-302582 (Sept. 30, 2004).
[End of section]
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