Justice Department Inspector General Glenn Fine has found that the FBI billed taxpayers for 7.8 million dollars in improper overtime for certain of its agents between 2003 and 2007, or an average of $45,ooo for each agent.
The involved agents had been temporarily assigned to duty in Iraq. (Why? The FBI is a domestic civilian law enforcement agency. I don't believe that they possess the statutory authority to operate overseas. Isn't there a military department that could have handled whatever they were doing?)
The article doesn't specify the exact reason for their presence there ("Classified", no doubt), but reports that the agents claimed overtime pay for such dangerous tasks as doing laundry, watching movies, exercising and attending cocktail parties, the latter being touted as an "important liaison meeting".
"And in another case, one supervisor said he 'had to laugh' when he saw how many agents were assigned to the office charged with preparing evidence for court trials of Saddam Hussein and his associates.
'Maybe they needed extra poker players,' said the unnamed supervisor."
I'm not amused. The job of the FBI is to investigate fraud, not commit it.
"In a statement, FBI Assistant Director John Miller said the now-defunct policy was only supposed to be a short-time pay solution in the early days of the war. He said managers at FBI headquarters 'allowed a flawed system to develop and remain in place too long.'"
There seems to be a disturbing pattern of "flawed systems" at the supposedly "professional" Justice Department these days, systems that would land employees of any other business concern behind bars. How can we believe their stated findings in criminal investigations when they consistently can't seem to keep their own house in order?
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