Inspectors General

This report reviews the handling of allegations of misconduct made against senior officials between 1990 and 1995 at the 28 Offices of Inspector General (OIG) with a presidentially appointed Inspector General. Members of Congress have raised concerns about how the President's Council on Integrity and Efficiency and the OIG have handled allegations against senior OIG officials. GAO discusses whether the Council or the OIGs had policies and procedures for handling such allegations and whether the allegations and resulting investigations were handled according to these policies and procedures. Executive Order No. 12993--"Administrative Allegations Against Inspectors General"--was signed in March 1996, and GAO notes its effect on the handling of allegations against Inspectors General and their senior staff.

GAO found that: (1) although PCIE had not formally adopted written policy or procedures for handling allegations against inspectors general (IG) and deputy IG, it did adhere to 1982 draft procedures and a 1994 description on how it processed allegations; (2) half of the 28 OIG reviewed had written procedures for handling allegations of wrongdoing by OIG employees, 12 had informal procedures, and 2 were developing written procedures; (3) the 72 allegations that PCIE received and closed during the review period resulted in 14 investigations, none of which resulted in criminal charges or administrative action; (4) 21 of the 35 allegations that OIG received and closed against IG, deputy IG, or assistant IG resulted in investigations, and 2 of these resulted in letters of reprimand; (5) most of the investigations were conducted in a manner that met PCIE standards for independence, due professional care, objectivity, and thoroughness, although before 1994, PCIE encountered problems that affected the timeliness of its work; (6) a 1996 executive order formally authorized PCIE to review allegations, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to investigate noncriminal allegations, against IG and certain staff members; and (7) while some IG believe that the order allows them to decide what entity should investigate allegations against senior OIG officials, several PCIE members believed that allegations concerning deputy or assistant IG should automatically be referred to PCIE.