IG Access Act Seeks to Reform Attorney Misconduct Investigations

Legislation introduced by Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) to expand the jurisdiction of the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) to include alleged DOJ attorney misconduct will be taken up next week during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. The bill was meant to be taken up today, before Committee Chairman Lindsay Graham pushed the legislation to consideration next week to allow the DOJ to work with Senator Lee’s office to obtain agreement on certain provisions.

According to Senator Lee’s office, the legislation would empower the OIG to investigate allegations of professional misconduct against DOJ lawyers at their own discretion, effectively taking cases away from the DOJ Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR).

“Our federal government inspectors general do a valuable job providing the information voters and lawmakers need to hold federal government agencies accountable,” Senator Lee said upon the legislation’s introduction. “Unfortunately, the Department of Justice OIG currently does not have the power to review the conduct of DOJ attorneys, an oversight which this legislation corrects.”

Senator Graham indicated at the Judiciary Committee business meeting today that the DOJ had concerns regarding the legislation and is working with Senator Lee’s team on amendments.

The National Association of Assistance U.S. Attorneys (NAAUSA), which represents the interests of the 6,300 Assistant U.S. Attorney working in 93 U.S. Attorney Offices, sent a letter to lawmakers this week expressing significant concerns with the legislation’s current state.

“This legislation erroneously conflates ‘fraud, waste and abuse’ investigations into criminal and administrative misconduct traditionally handled by the Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) with investigations into attorney professional misconduct handled by the specialized DOJ Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR).They are not the same, which Congress has historically recognized by maintaining the Section 8Ecarve out from the Inspector General Act for DOJ attorney professional misconduct to be investigated by OPR,” the letter explains.

NAAUSA President Larry Leiser defended the OPR for maintaining a “transparent process” for disclosing information and findings from their investigations.

The NAAUSA letter also notes that leaving case selection to the OIG will “at best, … create inconsistent results and rulings by removing the standardized and dependable method of reviewing cases of attorney professional misconduct.”

Groups endorsing the legislation include the Project on Government Oversight, the Government Accountability Project, and the R Street Institute, among others. In a group letter in October, these groups called the legislation “simple yet vital revision to the Inspector General Act of 1978.”

The groups criticized OPR as “ill-equipped and insufficiently independent to adequately hold DOJ attorneys accountable when necessary.”

During the hearing this morning, Senator Graham pledged the legislation would be voted on in committee next week.