I knew that we didn't know all of Clinton's tricks, threats, and abuses. Why do you think he smiles every day that he's out walking around on the taxpayer's dime?
In a 38-page report given Tuesday to the Armed Services Committee, Grassley details his criticisms of Mancuso, stating that the nominee has given preferential treatment to a convicted felon, turned a blind eye to a rogue investigator and botched the scandalous Tailhook investigation in which Navy and Marine Corps pilots were accused of sexually attacking female officers during a 1991 convention in Las Vegas.
Mancuso let Special Agent Larry Hollingsworth stay on the payroll for six months after he was convicted of forging a passport application in the name of a deceased teen-ager. The delay, Grassley alleges, was to let Hollingsworth retire on his 50th birthday and collect full benefits.
Mancuso sent a letter on official inspector general stationery to a judge presiding over Hollingsworth’s sentencing asking for leniency, and approved an "outstanding" performance evaluation after Hollingsworth admitted to criminal activity.
Mancuso defended his decision to use stationery with the department’s logo, saying he was hoping to give the judge a balanced view of Hollingsworth and saw no conflict of interest doing so as the DCIS director.
"I was trying to give a full picture of an individual while not condoning the crime," Mancuso told the Senators.
Grassley also accused Mancuso of overlooking misconduct by another investigator, Mathew Walinksi, who was accused of falsifying witness statements and then given a cash bonus after supervisors reprimanded him.
In addressing concerns about Walinksi, Mancuso said the cash bonus was an oversight because personnel paperwork had gotten lost in the shuffle. He said Walinski’s work was deemed "sloppy and slipshod," but not malicious, and that the investigator was subsequently removed from his duties and told to get counseling.
Because of the allegations surrounding Walinksi, Mancuso said he changed departmental policy and now requires all witnesses’ statements be tape-recorded and transcribed.
Mancuso, 50, has been serving as the acting inspector general since Eleanor Hill left the department in April 1999. He has served 28 years in law enforcement, 18 of them with the inspector general’s office.
Grassley first logged his complaints against Mancuso in October, and renewed his campaign against the nominee Monday.
"The IG’s office must be beyond reproach," Grassley wrote in a letter Tuesday to Sen. John Warner, chairman of the Armed Service Committee. "Having questions about judgment and appearance — as summarized here — is not beyond reproach."
Mancuso has the support of Pentagon officials, including Defense Secretary William Cohen. In fact, Cohen had his staff investigate Grassely’s claims in his October report and sent a letter to Grassley confirming his support for Mancuso.