WASHINGTON — The Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general and his top aides directed staff members to remove damaging findings from investigative reports on domestic violence and sexual misconduct by officers in the department’s law enforcement agencies, according to documents obtained by The New York Times and two government officials familiar with the inquiries.One investigation found that more than 10,000 employees of Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Secret Service and the Transportation Security Administration had experienced sexual harassment or sexual misconduct at work — more than one-third of those surveyed, according to an unpublished draft report dated December 2020.The draft report also described a pattern of the agencies using cash payments, with payouts as high as $255,000, to settle sexual harassment complaints without investigating or disciplining the perpetrators. But senior officials in the inspector general’s office objected to that finding, suggesting in written comments that it be removed from the report, which has never been published.The inspector general, Joseph V. Cuffari, also directed his staff to remove parts of another draft report showing internal investigations had found that dozens of officers working at the agencies had committed domestic violence, but that they had received “little to no discipline.” Mr. Cuffari also wanted a section removed that said the agencies had “put victims and the public at risk of further violence” by allowing the perpetrators to keep their firearms; including such findings, he wrote in an internal memo, would make his office look like it was “second-guessing D.H.S. disciplinary decisions without full facts.”The internal documents were first obtained by the Project on Government Oversight, an independent watchdog group in Washington. The organization brought the information to The Times, which confirmed its authenticity with two government officials familiar with the investigations. The draft report on sexual misconduct notes that fieldwork for the inquiry ended in October 2019, but the agency has not published the findings.The Office of Inspector General did not address specific questions about the inquiries, but defended the agency’s work in a statement.“All reports initiated and published during” Mr. Cuffari’s tenure, the statement said, “meet appropriate quality standards.”Asked about the omitted findings, a Department of Homeland Security spokesman said that the inspector general was independent from the department, and that Alejandro N. Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary, had made clear “that sexual harassment and sexual assault will not be tolerated.”The spokesman added that the department “does not have any involvement with internal O.I.G. deliberations or decisions,” referring to the Office of Inspector General.Mr. Cuffari, a Trump appointee who has served as inspector general since July 2019, has previously blocked investigations, against his staff’s recommendations. He blocked inquiries iinto the Secret Service’s role in the violent dispersal of protests against police brutality outside the White House in 2020, and on the spread of Covid-19 at that agency. He also delayed an inquiry into whether senior agency officials demoted an employee who criticized the Trump administration.Inspectors general are independent, internal watchdogs for federal departments and agencies, though they can be removed by the president. Donald J. Trump fired or demoted a number of inspectors general in his last year in office, a violation of norms that undercut the traditional independence of the office. The Biden administration had also considered removing several controversial inspectors general appointed by Mr. Trump, but ultimately demurred — wary of further eroding the norms of government it had vowed to restore.The investigations into sexual misconduct and domestic violence took place as law enforcement agencies within the department — particularly the Border Patrol, which is part of Customs and Border Protection — struggled to recruit women and advance them into leadership positions. They followed high-profile incidents of sexual misconduct over the past decade.Ed Gonzalez, President Biden’s nominee to head ICE, is facing uncertain prospects for confirmation after a police affidavit from last year surfaced, accusing him of domestic violence against his wife. Both Mr. Gonzalez and his wife have denied the allegations.The sexual misconduct inquiry, which started before Mr. Cuffari took over as inspector general, included a 2018 survey of employees at the department’s police agencies. Out of roughly 28,000 respondents, more than 10,000 said they had experienced sexual harassment or sexual misconduct in theirBy: Chris Cameron
Title: Homeland Security Watchdog Omitted Damaging Findings From Reports
Sourced From: www.nytimes.com/2022/04/07/us/politics/homeland-security-inspector-general.html
Published Date: Thu, 07 Apr 2022 09:00:13 +0000
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