{"id":2237502,"date":"2024-05-05T07:27:02","date_gmt":"2024-05-05T11:27:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ig-ousted-by-biden-pushes-back-on-removal-with-an-assist-from-grassley\/"},"modified":"2024-05-05T07:29:43","modified_gmt":"2024-05-05T11:29:43","slug":"ig-ousted-by-biden-pushes-back-on-removal-with-an-assist-from-grassley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ig-ousted-by-biden-pushes-back-on-removal-with-an-assist-from-grassley\/","title":{"rendered":"Instagram ousted by Biden resists removal with help from Grassley"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fig-ousted-by-biden-pushes-back-on-removal-with-an-assist-from-grassley%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2237502&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The White House faces scrutiny over the firing\u2062 of long-serving railroad official Martin Dickman amid allegations of a flawed \u2062process. Senator Grassley questions the lack of clarity in Dickman&#8217;s dismissal by the \u2063Biden administration and highlights concerns about\u200b inspector general procedures. The case underscores ongoing challenges in the hiring and firing of inspector generals. The dismissal of railroad official Martin Dickman by the White House\u2064 is under scrutiny, revealing a flawed \u200cprocess. Senator Grassley raises questions about the unclear reasons for Dickman&#8217;s firing by\u200d the Biden administration and\u2062 the need for \u200ctransparency in inspector general\u200c procedures. \u2063This \u2062case highlights persistent challenges in the hiring and firing of inspector generals.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/white-house\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"White House\">White House<\/a> is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/if-western-leaders-will-not-stop-putin-by-force-they-should-help-negotiate-peace\/\" title=\"If Western Leaders Will Not Stop Putin By Force, They Should Help Negotiate Peace\">facing tough questions<\/a> over its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/2945146\/biden-fires-railroad-official-office-since-1994-hostile-work-environment\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"White House\">firing<\/a> of a longtime railroad official, with some alleging that a murky process led to the dismissal and requires reform.<\/p>\n<p>Martin Dickman, who had served as the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board inspector general since 1994, was let go in March on grounds of creating a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/probe-finds-ore-state-dem-created-hostile-work-environment\/\" title=\"Probe finds Ore. state Dem created hostile work environment\">hostile work environment<\/a>. But Sen. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/chuck-grassley\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Biden administration\">Chuck Grassley<\/a> (R-IA) says the reasons he was let go have not been made clear by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/biden-administration\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Biden administration\">Biden administration<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYour communication failed to adequately provide Congress the details and case-specific reasons for the RRB IG\u2019s removal, as required by law,\u201d he wrote in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.grassley.senate.gov\/imo\/media\/doc\/grassley_to_biden_-_rrb_ig_removal.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"letter\">letter<\/a> to President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/joe-biden\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"letter\">Joe Biden<\/a> last week.<\/p>\n<p>Dickman was confirmed for the oversight position during the Clinton administration and had served in that capacity ever since. But he has been under investigation by the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, or CIGIE, since January 2023.<\/p>\n<p>Biden was presented with the findings of that report and subsequently dismissed Dickman, saying he\u2019d created a toxic work environment. Tennessee Valley Authority Inspector General Ben R. Wagner has taken on Dickman\u2019s role in an acting capacity while keeping his TVA post. Biden will need Senate confirmation for a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-cnn-cuomo-gollust-zucker-legal-mess\/\" title=\"The CNN-Cuomo-Gollust-Zucker Legal Mess\">full-time replacement<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>But Dickman\u2019s attorney, Justin Weddle, says that system that led to his ouster is flawed and has done his client a disservice after a long, otherwise unblemished career. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cDickman served with distinction at the Railroad Retirement Board for three decades under five presidents, and the effort to remove him despite that unblemished record is the unfortunate result of a broken system for receiving and investigating whether complaints relating to Inspectors General are founded or unfounded,\u201d he said. \u201cThe body charged with addressing such complaints, known as the IC (Integrity Committee), lacks accountability, fairness, and transparency.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Weddle added that CIGIE failed to follow its own procedures by not allowing Dickman a chance to respond to its report and sent the White House \u201cunvetted and anonymous allegations\u201d while \u201ctossing around conclusory and amorphous phrases such as \u2018toxic work environment\u2019 \u2014 as if they had been scrutinized and found credible in a process conducted according to proper procedures. They were not.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> has contacted the White House and CIGIE for comment.<\/p>\n<p>Grassley\u2019s issue also stems from Dickman\u2019s investigation and how it was communicated to Congress. The 90-year-old senator has fought to reform the process of hiring and firing inspector generals before, once <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/idUSKBN23B2XY\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"blocking\">blocking<\/a> two of then-President Donald Trump\u2019s nominees because Trump had fired two inspectors general.<\/p>\n<p>A bill Grassley introduced that passed in late 2022 requires the president to send Congress written communication before removing an inspector general, outlying the \u201csubstantive rationale, including detailed and case-specific reasons.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But the Dickman case suggests the process is still not operating as Grassley would like. <\/p>\n<p>Biden sent written notice on March 29, saying Dickman\u2019s continued presence in the workplace would jeopardize legitimate government interests and that the CIGIE investigation revealed \u201cevidence of misconduct uncovered by an ongoing, independent investigation.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Another letter, from White House counsel Ed Siskel, outlined reasons for the move that Grassley says are not supported with details.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe letter from Mr. Siskel provides broad and vague statements of alleged misconduct, also inadequately providing the level of specificity as required by law,\u201d he wrote. <\/p>\n<p>Grassley is calling on the White House to reissue the letter with more information. <\/p>\n<p>This isn\u2019t the first time CIGIE\u2019s investigative process has been called into question. The New Civil Liberties Alliance <a href=\"https:\/\/nclalegal.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/ECF-1-CIGIE-Complaint-and-Exhibits-ALL.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"filed suit\">filed suit<\/a> against the group last year on behalf of Homeland Security Inspector General Joseph Cuffari, saying Cuffari \u201chas been endlessly harassed and had his office\u2019s resources drained by a series of baseless inquiries\u201d lasting more than three years.<\/p>\n<p>That case was later <a href=\"https:\/\/www.govexec.com\/oversight\/2023\/11\/judge-tosses-igs-lawsuit-alleging-harassment-oversight-body-investigating-him\/391775\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"dismissed\">dismissed<\/a> on grounds that the investigation itself did not amount to unlawful harassment, but NCLA attorney John Vecchione maintains that the CIGIE process is riddled with problems.<\/p>\n<p>CIGIE is an independent entity within the executive branch of the federal government, and its members are not appointed by the president. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis organization, CIGIE, has become completely ungoverned,\u201d Vecchione said. \u201cI have just been stunned that this is the way our inspectors general are investigated, by a completely lawless system.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>CIGIE\u2019s investigative process and its results are not transparent, Vecchione added, saying Grassley\u2019s letter is evidence that the group does not follow its own written rules.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA disagreement about how you do your job should not trigger a CIGIE investigation, but that\u2019s what is happening here,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The White House is under scrutiny for the abrupt dismissal of Martin Dickman, the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board inspector general since 1994. Allegations of a murky dismissal process and the need for reform are on the rise, sparking questions about the grounds for his termination in March<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2635,"featured_media":2237503,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/AP24072627605063.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2237502","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/AP24072627605063.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2237502","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2635"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2237502"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2237502\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2237503"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2237502"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2237502"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2237502"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}