Fired special counsel: 'I don't think we have watchdog agencies anymore'
The ousted head of the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) said his removal by President Trump is among a series of firings that have taken a wrecking ball to oversight of his administration.
Special counsel Hampton Dellinger, unaffiliated with the office that investigated Trump, spoke to CBS News after ending his legal battle to remain in his job.
“I don't think we have watchdog agencies anymore. The inspector generals are gone. The head of the Office of Government Ethics is gone. I'm gone. The independent watchdogs who are working on behalf of the American taxpayers, on behalf of military veterans, they've been pushed out,” he said during an appearance on “60 Minutes,” noting Trump’s removal of 18 inspectors general.
“Independence, accountability, a safe place for federal government employee whistleblowers to come to and know that they'll be respected and protected — that's gone.”
Dellinger was fired by Trump last month in a two-sentence email citing the president's executive authority.
Dellinger sued, noting he was appointed to a five-year term and could only be fired for performance issues.
A judge temporarily returned him to his post, but an appeals court later reversed the ruling. Dellinger ended his legal battle, saying the job would be filled by someone “totally beholden to the president” in the months it would take the case to reach the Supreme Court.
The OSC is another avenue for whistleblowers to report malfeasance, particularly if they fear blowback within their own agency. It is tasked with protecting federal workers from “prohibited personnel practices,” including whistleblower reprisal. The office also reviews Hatch Act violations.
In his few weeks back on the job, Dellinger both determined a FEMA employee violated the Hatch Act by avoiding houses with Trump signs and also fought to return numerous workers fired by Trump to their jobs.
Dellinger found the firing of probationary employees — those hired or promoted within the last year or two — were improperly removed by Trump as they must be fired for cause. The special counsel said the Trump administration was improperly removing the employees to carry out a layoff.
“So much is lost. You're losing talent. You're losing experience. You're losing integrity. You're losing tens of thousands of military veterans who served our country in uniform, who put their lives on the line for America, and who came back enjoying the federal civilian work force,” he said.
“But putting aside all the losses, at the end of the day, it has to be done the right way. If you're going to fire federal employees, you've gotta do it lawfully. And that's my concern, that these mass firings aren't necessarily in accordance with the law.”
Dellinger scored an initial victory for probationary workers, with the Merit Systems Protection Board agreeing with his finding that six workers were improperly terminated, ordering their temporary return as well as the temporary reinstatement of nearly 6,000 probationary workers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
“My job, though, was not partisan at all. And my track record I will stand on as someone who has played it by the book. I'm not looking to promote a president's agenda or thwart it. I'm just trying to make sure the laws are followed,” he told CBS.
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