However. on March 9. 1989. the Departments Office of Legal Counsel issued on opinion which reinterpreted the Inspector General Act and imposed a hitherto unknown limitation on IGsaccording to OLC. in order to undertake an investigation the Is must find Federal dollars being expended. or a Federal employee engaged in misconduct. What the DOJ opinion leaves out are whole categories of criminal cases previously worked by IG agents: for example fraud relating to false certifications. and false applications for nonmonetary Government benefits such as a Federal license. Job. visa. passport or other benefit. It even leaves out less common but necessary investigations. such as those directed at persons impersonating agency officials. As a result. the jurisdiction and ability of the inspector general [I] offices to fight fraud and investigate crime is under full scale reduction from the U.S. Department of Justice. the very agency we would expect to be most supportive of the successful TO program. The end result will be the fumbling of thousands of investigations directly affecting the health and welfare of the people of this country. With the DOJ ruling. persons who criminally certify false test results of generic drugs they seek to have licensed are now more likely to go unpunished for putting ineffective medicine in the cabinets of the American people. workers in unsafe factories or mines may die as criminal conduct in the OSHA or MSHA Program occurs. and persons fraudulently selling State Department visas will be able to do so with far less risk of investigation and interference by agents of the Government. The OLC opinion further overturned the law by creating a type of investigation purportedly offlimits to the IG. The end result of DOJs drawing this line in the sand has been widespread confusion. which can only benefit persons intent upon breaking the law.
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