Today, Congresswoman Deborah Ross (NC-02), member of the House Judiciary Committee, and Congressman Robert Garcia (CA-42), Ranking Member of the House Oversight Committee, introduced the IG Access Act, which will expand the jurisdiction of the Department of Justice Office of Inspector General (DOJ IG) to include investigating allegations of DOJ attorney misconduct.
Currently, DOJ IG has no independent authority to investigate professional misconduct by DOJ lawyers. The DOJ IG is the only Inspector General with such a jurisdictional limitation. A prominent example of attorney misconduct that was inadequately investigated is the 2008 case in which U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta, who later became Secretary of Labor during the first Trump administration, was cleared of wrongdoing after granting Jeffrey Epstein a controversial non-prosecution agreement.
“Ensuring accountability at the DOJ is vital to a fair legal system,” said Congresswoman Ross. “The IG Access Act is commonsense legislation that will close an unnecessary loophole that can allow attorney misconduct to go unaddressed. While we have a president intent on manipulating the justice system to fit his will, transparency in our justice system is essential. I thank Ranking Member Garcia for working with me on this issue.”
"When top Department of Justice officials are openly talking about defying court orders, we need truly unbiased investigators to fight these attacks on our justice system and hold them accountable," said Congressman Robert Garcia. "But right now, independent watchdogs don't have the power to investigate DOJ lawyers, allowing gross misconduct and abuses of power to undermine our basic rule of law. That’s why I’m backing this bipartisan bill to make sure federal investigators have the authority and access they need to expose corruption, investigate wrongdoing, and rebuild public trust in our government."
Congresswoman Ross previously introduced the IG Access Act in 2021, and it passed the U.S. House of Representatives with bipartisan support.
Bill text is available here.