D.C. schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson made a brilliant move this week when she referred alleged instances of doctoring standardized test results to the Office of Inspector General — for there it will die. D.C.’s Inspector General Charles Willoughby is afraid of inserting himself into politically charged matters, a former local law enforcement official told me. Willoughby’s “investigators” are glorified accountants. At best, they will confirm existing probes by contractors who counted the number of erasures in the tests, but didn’t find anything conspiratorial or criminal.
Compare that to what’s taking place in Georgia. Similar questions were raised by high erasure rates in tests, but the matter was referred to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Fifty agents began questioning teachers and principals in a criminal investigation, which might lead to charges.
Now, I’m not saying that D.C. school officials or teachers did anything wrong. In fact, I believe the testing was done cleanly and fairly. Still, questions must be fully investigated, and D.C.’s inspector general will not satisfy that requirement.
The fact is that public officials in the capital city have no fear of skirting laws or regulations. There is no credible investigative authority, no consequences for improper or illegal acts. Whether it’s Marion Barry failing to pay taxes or register his Jag, or Mayor Vince Gray padding his payroll with cronies, no one pays.
“We can’t police ourselves,” says Ward 2 Councilman Jack Evans. “Neither the inspector general, the attorney general, the Office of Campaign Finance or the U.S. Attorney seem to be up to the task of doing the types of investigations that are necessary.”
At-large member David Catania puts it this way: “At the end of the day, there is no entity in local government that can darken your doorway and send a cold chill down someone’s spine — not one.”
Which is why our public officials — from the mayor’s office to clerks — feel they can skirt the law. There’s no cop, no consequences.
What to do?
We can ask the FBI’s Washington Field Office to set up a public corruption unit. At the moment, agents are focused on counterterrorism, so there’s scant interest in holding D.C. officials accountable.
We can attempt to establish the District of Columbia Bureau of Investigation, on Georgia’s model. Agents would have subpoena power; lying to them would be a felony. They would refer cases to the U.S. Attorney.
Or we could replace Charles Willoughby with a strong-willed, tough-minded prosecutor type; and we could finance and expand the OIG. The enabling legislation calls for serious criminal investigations. E. Barrett Prettyman, the IG back in the late 1990s, was the man. A call from him could make a politician lawyer up real quick.
Who could that person be?
Former U.S. Attorney Joe diGenova, perhaps?
“David Catania would be perfect,” Evans says.
Something has to give, before the feds simply install their own cop, just as they put a control board over city finances.
Harry Jaffe’s column appears on Tuesday and Friday. He can be contacted at [email protected].
