Letter to Joseph Biden, President of the United States - Johnson, Grassley Call for Removal of FHFA Inspector General Following Findings of Misconduct, Reprisal

Letter

Dear President Biden:

On April 14, 2021, the Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency's (CIGIE)
Integrity Committee (IC) sent your office a letter, and corresponding supporting documentation,
regarding their findings which substantiate allegations of misconduct by the Federal Housing
Finance Agency (FHFA) Inspector General (IG) Laura Wertheimer and several of her employees.
Further, in the letter the IC "conclude[d] misconduct of this nature warrants consideration of
substantial disciplinary action, up to and including removal."

The IC's report is long anticipated, following a series of separate letters from our offices
to various governmental bodies requesting documents, evidence, and interviews. Those letters
include requests from 2017 to the Office of Special Counsel and the IC to investigate allegations
brought to us by multiple whistleblowers of misconduct by the IG.

IG Wertheimer was nominated by then-President Obama and confirmed by the Senate in
September of 2014. Just over a year later, in October 2015, we began investigating whistleblower
allegations. These allegations ranged from blatant abuses of authority involving coercive
personnel actions, to flagrant violations of the Privacy Act by sharing personal identifying details
of an Equal Employment Opportunity complaint with unauthorized personnel. Whistleblowers
also reported that IG Wertheimer expressed a desire to discriminate on the basis of age and gender
as well as severely hindered the audit mission of the OIG. Worse, reports indicated that IG
Wertheimer, and other OIG employees, sought to identify and disparage those who brought these
complaints to Congress.

The IC's April 14 letter substantiates some of these allegations, and more. For other
allegations, the IC reports it could not reach a conclusion due to the IG's obstruction.Specifically,
the letter notes that the IG showed disdain for Congressional oversight and disregarded the IC's
multiple requests for documentation and employee interviews. IG Wertheimer's willful actions to
impede an investigation into her own alleged misconduct and support of an environment that
condones the intimidation of witnesses show that she lacks the attributes reasonably expected of
an IG.

The IC's findings largely parallel what our offices uncovered. The work that we did in
addition to the public letters, was only possible thanks to the brave whistleblowers that came to us
and exposed themselves to the potential of, and in some cases actual, retaliation. Their testimony,
evidence, and dedication throughout this unreasonable five year ordeal was pivotal in discovering
much of what has now been confirmed by the IC. In short, without these whistleblowers, this IG's
abhorrent behavior would have likely gone unnoticed.

In this case IG Wertheimer has failed to meet the duties described by the IG Act. Her
behavior certainly falls far short of your calls for unity, transparency, and integrity. To put it
mildly, the only thing this watchdog appears to hunt is her own employees. She should be removed
from office, in a manner consistent with applicable statutory notification requirements.

Sincerely,

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