Biden’s Justice Department Strips Stimulus Watchdog of Power
- Agency turf war results in legal opinion siding with Treasury
- Inspector general complains of ‘permanently reduced oversight’
The Department of Justice (DOJ) building in Washington, D.C., on April 27.
Photographer: Stefani Reynolds/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The leader of an agency overseeing federal stimulus programs said Friday that Treasury Department officials had resisted his attempts to investigate fraud in the Paycheck Protection Program, resulting in the Justice Department resolving the dispute by stripping the agency of its jurisdiction.
The Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery said he’d have to “stand down” as a result from investigating some of the most fraud-prone programs passed by Congress in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic.