Thank you I see you have the inspector, I have to run but will back later to do some digging, thanks for all your hard work.
Thursday’s suspension came within hours of a report that concluded that Edwards was not only politically influenced, but wasn’t qualified for his job. The report said that he also lacked the independence required of an inspector general.
Edwards‘ internal transfer was announced just days before he was scheduled to testify before the Senate oversight subcommittee about the allegations.
Edwards did not respond to an emailed request for comment. He previously has denied any wrongdoing.
The Senate subcommittee report repeatedly criticized Edwards for his “frequent communications and personal relationships” with senior Homeland Security officials, including former acting general counsel John Sandweg and former chief of staff Noah Kroloff, as he conducted investigations and audits.
Edwards was also criticized for seeking legal advice from the Homeland Security general counsel’s office, despite being required by law to only get such advice from his own counsel or from another inspector general, the report said. Edwards told investigators for the subcommittee that he didn’t trust his own lawyer or anyone else in that legal counsel’s office.