The government's top watchdogs are quickly becoming all bark and no bite, say critics who call the recent "purge" of inspectors general a warning about limited transparency in the Obama administration.
Inspectors general serve as the primary investigator and auditor at federal agencies. They have statutory powers to investigate internal fraud, waste, abuse and mismanagement as well as conduct oversight of the recipients of funds and contractors who work with the individual agencies.
"The mounting evidence that there might be political interference with the IGs is disturbing," "The IGs are being emasculated."
said Pete Sepp, vice president for policy and communications at the National Taxpayers Union.
"When inspectors general across the administration have roadblocks placed in their way, American taxpayers should worry. A threat to one's independence is a threat to them all."
Jake Wiens, an investigator for the Project on Government Oversight, a non-profit watchdog group in Washington, D.C., warned against seeing "patterns" in the dismissals.
"The IG office was always sacrosanct" ... "the Obama administration is not setting the right tone, especially after pledging during his campaign to reform government and make it more transparent"
The story may stay below the mainstream media's radar, but if you've spent years watching how scandal stories unfold in Washington, IG-Gate looks like one that will keep making headlines for months...
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