WASHINGTON – Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the former and current chairmen, respectively, of the Senate Judiciary Committee reintroduced the Inspector General Access Act alongside their committee colleague, Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah). The bipartisan bill would close a loophole that precludes the Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General (DOJ OIG) from investigating alleged DOJ attorney misconduct.

“Federal prosecutors have significant authority to enforce our laws. In cases where they abuse that authority, independent watchdogs should be the ones to investigate – not fellow Justice Department attorneys. This is a cut-and-dry matter of accountability and public trust,” Grassley said.

“This is a simple, bipartisan bill that would close a glaring loophole in the law,” Durbin said. “This is not a partisan issue. We should all agree that whoever the Attorney General is, he or she should be subject to independent oversight.”

“The current IG oversight exemption for DOJ attorneys is nonsensical and undermines accountability in our justice system. Our simple bill changes that, ensuring DOJ attorneys are no longer off-limits for IG investigations,” Lee said.

Currently, the DOJ Inspector General (IG) lacks the authority to investigate professional misconduct by DOJ lawyers. This creates an unfair double standard where other DOJ employees – such as FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration agents, U.S. Marshals and federal prison guards – are subject to IG inquiries. 

The Inspector General Access Act would address the problem by striking the jurisdictional carve out in Title 5, Section 413 of the U.S. Code. In addition to strengthening oversight of the DOJ, this commonsense reform seeks to align DOJ practices with those of other federal agencies, where IGs can already investigate attorney professional misconduct allegations. 

Grassley, Durbin and Lee are joined by Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.).

Background: 

Grassley is dogged in his efforts to hold the government accountable to the American people. That includes protecting IGs' authority. Last year, Grassley penned a bipartisan letter to President Biden urging him to fill IG vacancies, noting the watchdogs’ vital role in safeguarding taxpayer dollars and rooting out wrongdoing. Legislatively, his Securing Inspector General Independence Act aimed to, among other things, tighten requirements for presidents looking to fire an IG and establish whistleblower training guidelines for OIG employees.  

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