Grassley Seeks Transparency and Accountability for DOJ Officials Attempting to Evade Public Scrutiny

BUTLER COUNTY, IOWA – Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is shining a light on misconduct by Department of Justice (DOJ) officials and their efforts to evade public scrutiny.

In a letter to DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz, Grassley requested unredacted copies of Office of the Inspector General (OIG) reports that outline specific, substantiated allegations of misconduct by DOJ officials – but previously did not publicize the names of these senior officials.

“There’s a significant need for public transparency into the names of these and other senior Justice Department officials found to have committed misconduct. In many instances, these senior officials leave public service before the investigation is finalized and appropriate corrective action can be filed and made against them,” Grassley wrote. “Accordingly, there’s no public record identifying these individuals who committed the wrongdoing, and they can continue their patterns of workplace harassment and misconduct in a new line of work free from scrutiny.” 

Text of Grassley’s letter to Inspector General Horowitz follows:

March 18, 2025

VIA ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION

The Honorable Michael E. Horowitz

Inspector General

Department of Justice

Dear Inspector General Horowitz:

I write to you requesting fully unredacted copies of the following Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General (DOJ OIG) reports:

• Findings of Misconduct by a Federal Bureau of Investigation Program Analysis Officer for Sexual Harassment, Unprofessional Conduct, and Lack of Candor to the OIG, and by a then FBI Unit Chief for Failure to Report an Allegation of Sexual Harassment, Investigative Summary 23-081.[1]
• Findings of Misconduct by a Community Relations Service Manager for Misuse of Public Office for Private Gain, Misuse of Government Property, and Lack of Candor to the OIG, Investigative Summary 23-048.[2]
• Findings of Misconduct by a Federal Bureau of Investigation Supervisory Special Agent for Sexual Harassment of a Colleague and Failing to Timely Report an Intimate or Romantic Relationship with Two Subordinates, Investigative Summary 24-069.[3]
• Finding of Misconduct by an Immigration Judge in the Executive Office for Immigration Review for Making Inappropriate, Sexually Oriented Comments to a Department of Justice Employee During an After-hours Social Gathering, Investigative Summary 23-114.[4]
• Findings of Misconduct by a then Bureau of Prisons Warden for Operating a Prohibited Vehicle on Bureau of Prison Grounds and Endangering Others, Making Sexist, Racist, and Obscene Comments to Staff, and False Statements and Lack of Candor to the OIG, Investigative Summary 24-006.[5]
• Findings of Misconduct by a then Federal Bureau of Investigation Senior Level Employee for Solicitation of Prostitutes and Failure to Self-Report Close or Continuous Contacts with a Foreign National, Investigative Summary 24-001.[6]
• Findings of Misconduct by a then FBI Special Agent in Charge and two then FBI Assistant Special Agents in Charge for Their Roles in an Unauthorized $2 Million Purchase of Intellectual Property Related to a Classified Undercover Operation and Related Misconduct, Investigative Summary 21-090.[7]

In all of these investigations the DOJ OIG substantiated the allegations that the Justice Department officials engaged in misconduct.[8]  However, the DOJ OIG did not include the names of these senior officials in the investigative summary.[9]  

There’s a significant need for public transparency into the names of these and other senior Justice Department officials found to have committed misconduct.  In many instances these senior officials leave public service before the investigation is finalized and appropriate corrective action can be filed and made against them.[10]  Accordingly, there’s no public record identifying these individuals who committed the wrongdoing, and they can continue their patterns of workplace harassment and misconduct in a new line of work free from scrutiny. 

I request that you provide the investigative reports referenced above in fully unredacted form no later than March 21, 2025.  Thank you for your attention to this request.  

Sincerely,

Charles E. Grassley
Chairman
Committee on the Judiciary

-30-