Inspectors general tend not to have especially high profiles, but these officials are responsible for rooting out corruption, ethical lapses and mismanagement in federal agencies throughout the government. It’s one of the reasons Donald Trump’s decision to fire so many inspectors general last year was so indefensible.
Making matters worse are some of the controversial figures the president has nominated to fill the vacancies he created. The Guardian reported this week, for example:
Donald Trump’s nominee to serve as a top independent watchdog at the Department of Justice has refused to call the January 6 insurrection an “attack” during questioning by US senators.
Don Berthiaume, a career justice department employee who has been serving as inspector general at the agency, faced senators as part of his confirmation process to take up the role permanently on Wednesday.
In fairness, it’s worth emphasizing that Berthiaume wasn’t considered a particularly controversial pick, at least not by the standards of this administration. But when Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut asked the nominee whether the Capitol was attacked on Jan. 6, the hearing went in an unexpected direction.
“I don’t know if I would use the term ‘attack’,” Berthiaume replied. “I mean, we had activity outside the Capitol, protests and such.”
Pressed further, the nominee again referenced “protest activity,” adding, “People entered the Capitol building, which is contrary, as far as I know, to law.”