Inspector of Projects in Iraq Under Investigation

Inspector of Projects in Iraq Under Investigation
By JAMES GLANZ
New York Times
Published: May 4, 2007

A federal official whose investigations of waste and corruption in Iraq have repeatedly embarrassed the Bush administration is now being investigated himself by an oversight committee with close links to the White House and by the ranking Republican on the House Government Reform Committee.

The investigation of the official, Stuart W. Bowen Jr., originated with a complaint put together by roughly half a dozen former employees who appear to have left his office on unhappy terms, said several officials familiar with the case, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation is still going on.

Both the White House and a spokesman for the Republican congressman, Thomas M. Davis III of Virginia, said yesterday that the investigations were not started in retribution for the work undertaken in Iraq by Mr. Bowen, who runs the Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction.

But the investigations are coming to light just a few months after Mr. Bowen's office narrowly escaped what amounted to a termination clause tucked away in a large military authorization bill by staff members of another Republican congressman. A bipartisan group of lawmakers later managed to reverse that provision, but the latest action has renewed suspicions that Mr. Bowen ?- a Republican himself ?- has come to be seen as a serious political liability by his own party.

One of the former employees who filed the complaint, who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of concern that he would face reprisals, agreed that all of those who brought the misconduct accusations had been unhappy with demotions, terminations or other sanctions during their time in the inspector general's office.

"I think probably in each case, yes," the former employee said. "Some were outright fired, and some were demoted."

Even so, he said, all of them believed that they had seen numerous instances of genuine misconduct during their time in the office, and in 2006 they sent those accusations to the President's Council on Integrity and Efficiency, an organization that was specifically created to investigate allegations of misconduct by inspectors general at federal agencies.

A letter from the council to the inspector general's office dated May 8, 2006, and obtained by The Times says that the council decided that three of the accusations were credible enough to investigate.

Those accusations involve fairly narrow issues: a payment to a contractor that the employees believed was unjustified; a project to produce a type of report on reconstruction that they maintain is outside the Congressional mandate of the office; and what the employees contend is an inflated estimate of how much money investigations by the office have saved American taxpayers.

The council is drawn from the executive branch; its chairman is Clay Johnson III, deputy budget director and longtime friend of the president.

During his regular news briefing yesterday, the White House press secretary, Tony Snow, responded to a question about whether the investigation would be interpreted as retributive, especially with Mr. Johnson in charge of the council.

Mr. Snow said the council was "an independent investigative organization" that did not directly follow the White House's direction. "The White House has no role in this, zero," he said. "So it's very important to be ?- to draw the distinction there."

He said that the council's members ?- inspectors general from throughout the administration ?- were conducting the investigation and that "Clay is not, in fact, involved in the process."

Mr. Bowen has been spoken of as a potential political candidate in Virginia, Mr. Davis's state.

But Mark Marin, a spokesman for Mr. Davis, said that politics played no role. "No matter what we chose to pursue, some are going to claim it's politics," Mr. Marin said. "We have a responsibility to investigate whistleblower claims and that's what we're doing here."

Senator Susan Collins, a moderate Maine Republican who led the effort to preserve Mr. Bowen's office last year, said in statement that Mr. Bowen had "proven to be a crucial watchdog," but she added that the council was the proper channel for investigating employee grievances.

"It is my hope that this investigation will be completed in a prompt and thorough manner so as to avoid any diversion from the Special I.G.'s important oversight work," Senator Collins said.

A spokesman for the majority side of the Government Reform Committee, whose chairman is Representative Henry A. Waxman of California, also said that the investigations should be wrapped up quickly.

"At this point, there isn't any way to know whether there are credible allegations against Stuart Bowen or just frivolous attacks," the spokesman said. "What is clear is that he has done a superb job uncovering waste, fraud and abuse in Iraq."
--------------------------------------

Jim Rutenberg contributed reporting from Washington.