WASHINGTON — Metro’s Office of Inspector General was being watched five years ago, and still faces questionable internal pressures to have documents reviewed or redacted, a Senate committee warned Metro’s general manager.
A letter from the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Tuesday night warned Metro’s general manager of the tracking.
Metro acknowledged Wednesday that about five years ago an employee with access to key security features within Metro’s computer network “inappropriately monitored communication of the OIG.” The then-inspector general raised the issue that the keystrokes of the office’s computers were being tracked, and that employee was later fired, Metro spokesman Dan Stessel said in an email.
The Senate committee letter suggests new Inspector General Geoff Cherrington still faces internal pressure, and does not have the independence or power needed to fully uncover issues and then reveal them to the public.
Cherrington reports to the Metro Board, and a board committee must vote to approve his reports before they can be released. The committee is also concerned that the office relies on Metro’s general counsel for legal advice, Metro’s main human resources department for hiring, and Metro’s main procurement systems for purchasing. Cherrington warned the committee that information about his outside hiring or purchasing could “compromise independent investigations.”
General Manager Paul Wiedefeld said Wednesday that all Metro employee computer use is tracked, and the Office of Inspector General remains in the same network, which Cherrington said could allow any Metro employee with administrative rights to see what the office is working on. Wiedefeld denied that there is any interference in Cherrington’s activities.
“We stay out of the way and he does what they want to do. They have access to anything and everything,” Wiedefeld said.
The Senate letter suggested Cherrington was even encouraged to run his responses to the committee past Metro Board members, though.
Before Cherrington took the job in April, some critical past investigative reports were not released to the public, including several that foreshadowed larger problems that occurred later. Many reports are still redacted, and a key investigation into overtime fraud is still pending.
“We believe the safety and reliability of the WMATA system would benefit from an independent inspector general,” said the Senate letter, signed by Republican Chairman Ron Johnson and Democratic Ranking Member Claire McCaskill.
Wiedefeld’s initial budget proposal for the fiscal year that begins next summer does not include the full funding Cherrington requested for his office. Metro Board Finance Committee Chairman Michael Goldman suggested that money should be among additions to the budget if the jurisdictions are willing to pay.
