Imagine if a baseball umpire feared they'd be fired for calling a strike against a Yankee batter. Would you have confidence in the fairness of the game? Of course not.

That is the situation facing America's federal inspector general (IG) community. IGs are the independent umpires in our federal government, unbiased auditors and investigators who call balls and strikes to prevent and detect waste, fraud, and abuse.

The phrase "without fear or favor" is a guiding mantra for IGs. This means they must be empowered to investigate and issue findings about misconduct and waste without concern for their jobs and without putting their thumb on the scale for any person, party, or political ideology.

The first part of that mantra is now under attack with reports of fear inside IG offices that doin

See Full Page