GAO Asked to Probe Corporate Monitors

By Pedro Ruz Gutierrez

The chairmen of the Senate and House judiciary committees today urged the General Accountability Office to investigate the use of outside compliance monitors by the Justice Department in criminal investigations.

Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) today sent a letter to GAO Comptroller General David Walker citing concerns in how the contracts have been awarded and monitored.

"We are concerned about recent reports that officials at the Department of Justice have directed companies to award lucrative no-bid contracts for monitoring compliance with out-of-court settlement and deferred prosecution agreements," wrote Leahy and Conyers.

"There appears to be little or no oversight of these contracts," they continued. "The manner in which these contracts have been awarded and the lack of oversight in their implementation raises questions about the role of political or personal favoritism in decisions regarding these settlement agreements."

News accounts in New Jersey since November have detailed how U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie steered a contract worth between $28 million and $52 million to former Attorney General John Ashcroft's company, the Ashcroft Group. Ashcroft's contract, detailed here in The New York Times, and those of other former Justice officials also prompted Leahy and Conyers to demand records from Main Justice last week.

Department officials say the Criminal Division is undertaking a review of the monitor contracts that will likely standardize the process when its findings surface later this year.

Comments

[Elisabeth]

There seems to be no end to the corruption that is taking place in Washington. These multi-million dollar contracts to families and friends are actually funded by tax payer money, so why don't the tax payers get to know about it or have a say? I think there is just corruption fatique.