Washington, D.C. – Senators Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Claire McCaskill of Missouri today released a report prepared by staff of the Subcommittee on the investigation of the former Acting and Deputy Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security.  They made the following comments:

Senator Johnson said, “I appreciate Chairman McCaskill’s willingness to join me in a bipartisan investigation of Charles Edwards’ conduct at the DHS Office of Inspector General. Initially, I was primarily concerned with the national security implications of United States Secret Service personnel hiring prostitutes in Cartagena, Colombia in April of 2012.  In the course of my oversight of that matter, however, my office began receiving whistleblower allegations that information was being removed and altered in the OIG’s Secret Service report of investigation in order to avoid embarrassing the administration in an election year. Since that time, dozens of allegations have poured into my subcommittee regarding Mr. Edwards’ conduct. The bipartisan investigation found that Mr. Edwards jeopardized the independence of the DHS OIG throughout his tenure there, sought legal advice from the DHS Acting Counsel in violation of the IG Act, and delayed and altered reports at the direction of senior officials at DHS.  An Office of Inspector General is intended to be beyond reproach. The problems in that office were allowed to persist for far too long.”

Senator Claire McCaskill said: “This report is the conclusion of the Subcommittee’s extensive investigation of the former Acting and Deputy DHS Inspector General. The problems laid out in the report further highlight the need for qualified, permanent inspectors general at all federal agencies. I’ve been pleased by the steps taken by the new DHS Inspector General to begin turning things around, and look forward to continuing our work to ensure we’re holding all agencies to the highest standards of accountability.”

###