A Trump appointee is definitely in the running
Here’s an example of a person who perfectly represents the Trump ethos. She is expending all her energy trying to nail old and disabled people with million dollar fraud charges.
An independent watchdog this week opened a broad investigation into Social Security Inspector General Gail Ennis and her office following a Washington Post report that revealed how an anti-fraud program has imposed massive penalties on disabled and elderly people.
The inquiry by the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE), a group that investigates misconduct allegations against inspectors general, comes as Ennis has been directed by the acting Social Security commissioner to suspend the program amid mounting political pressure.
In a letter, a senior White House official urged a quick response fromthe chairwoman of the inspectors general council, Allison Lerner, who took the unusual step of notifying Congress and the White House that she had opened the probe. On Thursday, congressional staffers will question Ennis’s deputies about the program.
“Given the gravity of the allegations, I strongly encourage the Integrity Committee to work expeditiously,” Jason Miller, deputy director for management for the White House Office of Management and Budget, wrote in a letter sent late Monday that also noted concerns about reports of retaliation against whistleblowers who questioned the penalties. “It is critical that the American public have full confidence in the important work of the Inspector General community, and that is why it is imperative these allegations be resolved in an appropriate and expeditious manner.”
Rebecca Rose, a spokeswoman for Ennis, wrote in an email, “We will continue to be responsive and cooperate fully” with the investigation and a parallel probe of the penalties by acting Social Security Commissioner Kilolo Kijakazi, who has announced a “full investigation” of Ennis’s oversight of the anti-fraud program. Ennis, as a member of the inspectors general council’s Integrity Committee, must recuse herself from all committee matters while the investigation is ongoing.
At the heart of the investigation is theCivil Monetary Penalty Program, a little-known anti-fraud program run by the inspector general’s office. During the Trump administration, under Ennis’s watch, the program began levying unprecedented fines, which reached hundreds of thousands of dollars, on more than 100 people accused of improperly receiving disability benefits. The fines were imposed without considering the age, financial condition or other mitigating factors of the recipients — a departure from how the program had previously operated.
Many of those fined had no hope of ever being able to pay. Over a seven-month period that ended in mid-2019, 83 people were charged a total of $11.5 million, documents obtained by The Post showed — a jump from less than $700,000 for all of 2017.
Civil fines are supposed to provide an alternative when fraud is considered too insignificant to warrant criminal prosecution by the Justice Department. In years past, cases had often settled, with agreements for drastically lower fines as claimants gradually paid back what they owed taxpayers.
The investigation is likely to be far-reaching. The troubled anti–fraud program is one of several controversies roiling Social Security’s 500-person internal watchdog division, charged with oversight of the agency that distributes retirement benefits to 69 million Americans and monthly disability checks to about 15 million others.
Dozens of senior auditors, law enforcement agents and other staff have quit or retired, many in frustration with what they describe as Ennis’s mercurial leadership and lack of focus on the office’s mission, according to current and former staff members. Ennis has defended her leadership and said some employees bristle at changes when a new leader comes in.
In case you were wondering, Ennis was a big GOP donor before she got this job. And the Trumpers liked her so much they concurrently made her the temporary acting IG at the Interior Department before a new IG was confirmed.
I honestly have to wonder why every Trump political appointee hasn’t been shown the door by now. There is no way any of them can be trusted.