Rep. Loudermilk, Sen. Grassley accuse DHS Secretary Mayorkas of obstructing OIG investigation

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Biden-Harris Administration Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is under fire from Senator Charles E. Grassley (R-IA) and Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-GA) who have brought serious accusations that the Secretary has repeatedly obstructed investigations into his department by the Office of the Inspector General.

According to The Washington Times, Grassley and Loudermilk penned a letter to Mayorkas Tuesday in which they presented allegations against the Secretary and other leadership at the Department of Homeland Security that they are "restricting the DHS Office of Inspector General’s (“DHS OIG”) ability to conduct work and provide information to Congress."

The letter details five distinct instances since 2021 in which DHS leaders have "significantly delayed OIG’s access to Department records, thereby impeding the progress of OIG’s review" of events ranging from the January 6th Capitol riot, events at the border involving Customs and Border Protection, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump in July.

RealClearInvestigations journalist Julie Kelly shared the letter to X, writing, "Sen. Grassley and Rep Loudermilk send letter to DHS Sec Mayorkas demanding answers related to USSS/DHS stonewalling of DHS IG J6 investigation and attempts to conceal some findings from Congress. This scandal is heating up."
 

NEW: Sen. Grassley and Rep Loudermilk send letter to DHS Sec Mayorkas demanding answers related to USSS/DHS stonewalling of DHS IG J6 investigation and attempts to conceal some findings from Congress.

This scandal is heating up. pic.twitter.com/8b5cZELCSv

— Julie Kelly 🇺🇸 (@julie_kelly2) August 20, 2024

In the text of the letter the legislators wrote, “The Department’s alleged conduct creates a chilling effect when the DHS OIG should instead serve as a place where employees can report fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement within the agency,” they wrote.

“In light of the Biden-Harris administration’s conduct, does the DHS OIG’s office need to consider themselves whistleblowers to share required information with Congress?”

Rep. Loudermilk, chair of the Committee on House Administration shared a press release regarding his investigation saying, "My investigation has uncovered alarming reports that Mayorkas and the Department have been delaying the DHS OIG from conducting their investigations. I am very concerned that the Department would interfere at all regarding what information DHS OIG provides to Congress or what information the DHS OIG can obtain during their investigations. The OIG has an independent reporting relationship to Congress. Under no circumstances should the Secretary interfere in the Inspector General’s work."

Sen. Grassley in his capacity as Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on the Budget said, "The Biden-Harris DHS is keeping its watchdog on a tight leash by imposing unlawful access restrictions and delaying information sharing, which has interfered with DHS OIG’s ability to disclose its full findings to Congress and the American people in a timely manner. DHS’ rampant lack of transparency is a disservice to the American taxpayer and highly concerning in light of recent Secret Service-related communication failures. If DHS is willing to keep Americans in the dark about January 6, how can we depend on them to provide the whole truth about July 13? It’s high time DHS let the sunshine in."

In a letter released alongside the message to Mayorkas, Grassley and Loudermilk have also requested additional information from Inspector General Joseph V. Cuffari on how DHS leadership has stymied his investigations.