Dear Mr. Inspector General.
I have always been confident in the impartiality and integrity with which the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) carries out its duties. But I am troubled by today’s report alleging improprieties in investigations related to former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and her aides.
I am most concerned by the report that your deputy, Ms. Emilia DiSanto, is deeply involved in this investigation despite her longtime ties with a Republican Senator who has been a constant, vocal critic of the Obama Administration. My own review of public records confirms that for more than a decade, Deputy Inspector General DiSanto was a senior aide to Senator Grassley, who himself is driving an investigation into Secretary Clinton’s time at the State Department
At a time when anonymous leaks to the press are the source of far too much information about your investigation, even the appearance of impropriety or a conflict of interest is too much weight for this already fraught situation to bear. To clear the way for a thorough and unbiased investigation, I strongly urge that Deputy Inspector General DiSanto recuse herself from any State Department OIG investigation or review dealing with Secretary Clinton, her aides, or the use of private email by other former Secretaries of States and members of their staff.
Additionally, in my view, it would serve the Office of the Inspector General to clear the air once and for all. To that end, I request that you furnish the House Committee on Foreign Affairs with relevant documents related to any review or investigation tied to Secretary Clinton, including emails that State Department OIG personnel sent or received in connection with these reviews or investigations. The Committee, with our responsibilities of oversight of the State Department, is best equipped to review these documents and confirm that the OIG continues to function in an independent and non-political manner.
I regret that the OIG has been brought into the political three-ring circus aimed at derailing Secretary Clinton’s presidential bid. We need to act quickly and shut down any speculation that impugns the Office’s motives so that you can get back to your important work.
Thank you very much for your quick attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
Eliot L. Engel
Ranking Member
House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
