So what happens when career Justice Department employees blow the whistle on their boss and talk to the media and Congress about favoritism and cronyism going on in their office? An internal Justice Department investigation commences.
But the investigation is not about the wrongdoing they have uncovered, but rather regarding the alleged unauthorized disclosure of information by the DOJ employees. No joking. While working on this Nightline story, which reported that about at least a half dozen DOJ employees have come forward to blow the whistle on their boss, J. Robert Flores, the administrator of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, we were able to learn that the general counsel of DOJ’s Programs Office has investigated several of the career officials were allegedly leaking; that career officials have felt intimidated; others have been called in by superiors and colleagues and accused of disloyalty; and in one case, a DOJ employee had the hard drive of his computer seized.
Maybe it is time for Congress to step in and protect potential witnesses to its own investigation of Flores. So far, Rep. Henry Waxman has scheduled a hearing on the OJJDP scandal for sometime next week. Perhaps he’ll bring up the intimidation issues with Flores personally.
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