Staffers at the U.S. EPA's office of enforcement were instructed recently not to talk to anyone from the media, the Government Accountability Office, or the EPA's own inspector general's office in an email from a top EPA official. "If you are contacted directly by the IG's office or GAO requesting information of any kind ... please do not respond to questions or make any statements," the email said, instructing staff to contact EPA press officers to answer the inquiries instead. EPA officials defended the move, saying it was attempt to coordinate communication more efficiently. However, the agency's inspector general thought the instructions were more troubling. In a statement released Monday, the IG's office said, "All EPA officials and employees are required to cooperate with [the Office of the Inspector General]. This cooperation includes providing the OIG full and unrestricted access to EPA documents, records, and personnel." Environmental groups characterized the EPA email as yet another attempt by the Bush administration to suppress potentially useful information.
source: The Washington Post, Associated Press
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ataventure Posted 2:54 am
29 Jul 2008
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Gustavion Posted 2:58 am
29 Jul 2008
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hipifreq Posted 5:31 am
29 Jul 2008
Perhaps you missed part 2 of the memo?
It CLEARLY states that employees should NOT answer any questions posed by the Inspector General or the Government Accountability Office. The IG and GAO have a congressional mandate to investigate the goings-on of government, and failure to comply with their requests can be considered obstruction.
This is definitely on par with the rest of the administration's style.
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Max8806 Posted 9:08 pm
29 Jul 2008
Is this so unclear: 'Please do not respond to questions or make any statements.'
What's the point of having an IG (or GAO) if they're barred from getting candid answers from staff? Any schmuck can call the press office and ask what the official policy is on whether politics interfere with technical work. Obviously the press office will say no. The point of an IG or GAO is to find out what is actually going on. Not talking points.
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