By Steve Neavling
An independent panel is urging President Joe Biden to consider disciplinary action, including the possible dismissal of Department of Homeland Security Inspector General Joseph V. Cuffari Jr., following accusations of misconduct during his five years in office, The Washington Post reports.
According to a report released on Thursday, the panel claims Cuffari misled the Senate during his nomination process.
The integrity committee, composed of government watchdogs from other federal agencies, alleges that Cuffari failed to provide crucial information when completing a Senate questionnaire during his confirmation process, which prevented lawmakers from having a full understanding of his background before his appointment was approved by voice vote.
Cuffari was appointed by then-President Trump.
The Senate questionnaire asked whether Cuffari had ever been the subject of an investigation during his career. Cuffari responded by noting that the Department of Justice (DOJ) inspector general’s office had “interviewed me” about his conduct in a federal civil rights case.
“Cuffari provided wrongfully inaccurate and misleading information during his nomination process when he failed to describe the true facts and circumstances surrounding his departure from federal employment as a special agent with law enforcement authority,” the integrity committee wrote in its nearly 1,000-page report and letter addressed to Biden.
The integrity committee of the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency concluded that Cuffari did not disclose to the Senate, prior to his confirmation in July 2019, that the DOJ inspector general’s office had determined six years earlier that he violated ethics rules and misled investigators.
At the time, Cuffari was working as an investigator in the DOJ inspector general’s Tucson office. Officials had recommended a more thorough investigation into his conduct, which was cut short when Cuffari retired in 2013, knowing he faced a potentially career-ending probe.
