WASHINGTON- Journalists are nothing if not resourceful. But some public affairs officers say reporters often ignore a fruitful resource: inspectors general.
“Investigative journalists and inspectors general should be a match made in heaven,” said Bridget Serchack, chief of public affairs for the Inspector General’s Office at the Department of Defense. “Once you hear about IGs, you can’t un-know about us.”
The main goal of government inspector generals, or IGs, is oversight.
An inspector general, through an audit or investigation, can gain access to all records and materials available to the agency over which the IG has authority, determine which reviews are necessary and issue subpoenas, according to the Inspector General Act of 1978. Part of the mission of the inspector general of the Treasury Department, for example, is to detect and waste, fraud, abuse and misconduct.
David Barnes, public affairs liaison for the Treasury Inspector General, noted the difference between an audit and an investigation. He said that many journalists confuse the two.
“We can’t talk about investigations, we can talk about audits,” Barnes said.
He explained that audits are official inspections of an individual’s accounts or behavior by an outside group, in this case, the office of the inspector general. The written report includes the purpose, summary of the investigation, background, scope, methodology, findings and recommendations.
But ongoing investigations are another matter – and cannot be discussed with reporters.
“Investigations can result in people going to jail.”
Barnes explained that his office’s reports are only recommendations, and any judicial responsibility goes to the Department of Justice. He urged journalists to pay attention to agencies that get audited numerous times—which means they’re likely to get Congress’s attention. Congressmen can call for an investigation of a government agency through an IG, but Barnes said they tend to get impatient while waiting for reports that often take 12 months to compile.
But some federal inspectors general have run into their own issues of misconduct. A top official at the Department of Homeland Security was accused of altering and delaying investigations at the request of senior administration officials, according to a report from a Senate oversight panel released this April.
Bill Hillburg, Acting Director of Office of Public Affairs for the Department of Homeland Security said that offices like his are trying to make things easier for journalists through Twitter and social media. They post Twitter updates, email alerts and offer a monthly newsletter and wrap-ups.
“We’re trying to reach out not just with social media, but with clearer reports”, Hillburg said. “We have to be clear to help you, and that’s one of our goals.”
Even when a journalist does find what he or she is looking for, Hillburg said the reports may seem difficult to navigate.
He recommended looking at the scope and methodology section of a report, usually located on the last pages. This section provides sample size, time frame and sites visited.
Hillburg also said that the agency can issue a public response in the audit. This is especially useful if a reporter cannot directly contact that agency for a comment.
“It’s a self-contained news nugget. More often than not it’s a good jumping off point,” Hillburg said.
Arlen Morales, a public affairs official with DHS Office of Inspector General who works alongside Hillburg, suggested checking the annual performance plan that every IG office sends out.
“That plan is basically our roadmap. We may not finish it in that fiscal year, but we’ll at least start it,” Morales said.
She also recommended the semi-annual report that inspectors general submit to Congress and using FOIA documents that are published on their websites. Most offices publish a collection of previous FOIA requests in the “reading room” section of their site.
Hillburg said that for the most part, inspector generals are more than willing to help journalists. But quoting Denzel Washington, he said:
“If you break the embargo, we are the po-lice.”
