Bad Watchdog
Project On Government Oversight
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What happens when the watchdog tasked with overseeing the most powerful law enforcement agency in the country doesn’t do its job? In a six-part series, host Maren Machles and investigative reporters from the Project On Government Oversight uncover a shocking pattern of misconduct at the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General, which resulted in a failure to investigate some of the most troubling events in recent history.
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Available episodes
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Feb 23, 2023
The Perfect Storm (S1 E6)
In the final episode of “Bad Watchdog,” Nick and Adam discover that Cuffari knew about even more missing January 6th text messages from the Trump-era DHS leadership team, and Maren asks the million-dollar question: Why hasn’t this guy been removed from power? Experts weigh reforms to the inspector general system that would improve accountability for bad watchdogs and discuss what may be preventing President Biden from taking action. Maren gives Cuffari’s staff the final word.
For transcript and show notes, visit pogo.org/podcasts/bad-watchdog
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Feb 16, 2023
Who is Joseph Cuffari? (S1 E5)
Cuffari’s mismanagement of Homeland Security’s watchdog office has Maren wondering how he ended up with such an important job in the first place. She looks back at his Senate confirmation, alleged ethics violations, and dubious qualifications, and she and Nick talk with Representative Bennie Thompson (D-MS), chair of the House Committee on Homeland Security, about his efforts to hold Cuffari accountable. Nick and Adam detail Cuffari’s early fights with his own staff, and a group of anonymous watchdog office staff plead with President Biden to remove their boss.
For transcript and show notes, visit pogo.org/podcasts/bad-watchdog
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Feb 9, 2023
The Story of an Agency (S1 E4)
The Homeland Security watchdog tries to bury a report on sexual harassment and misconduct at the agency, but POGO’s investigators expose the plot. Maren talks to former Border Patrol officer and current reform advocate Jenn Budd about her own painful experiences working for the agency. DHS Secretary Mayorkas responds almost immediately to Nick and Adam’s findings, and Congress starts asking questions about Cuffari.
For transcript and show notes, visit pogo.org/podcasts/bad-watchdog
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Feb 2, 2023
Abuse of Power and People (S1 E3)
Nick and Adam discover that Cuffari’s office removed damaging findings from an official report about dozens of cases of domestic abuse by Homeland Security law enforcement agents with access to government-issued firearms, and they poke holes in Cuffari’s excuses for refusing to criticize the agencies he’s supposed to hold accountable. Maren circles up with experts to learn about how the Department of Homeland Security became home to the largest and least accountable law enforcement agency in the federal government.
For transcript and show notes, visit pogo.org/podcasts/bad-watchdog
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Jan 26, 2023
The Tip of the Iceberg (S1 E2)
A troubling pattern of ignoring serious misconduct at the Department of Homeland Security begins to emerge. Despite widespread condemnation of law enforcement’s use of tear gas on Black Lives Matter protesters gathered in Lafayette Square in Washington, Homeland Security watchdog Joseph Cuffari declined to investigate the incident. Investigative reporters Nick Schwellenbach and Adam Zagorin walk Maren through Cuffari’s baffling refusal to investigate the Secret Service’s role in the violence in Lafayette Square or the abuse of migrants by Customs and Border Protection agents.
For transcript and show notes, visit pogo.org/podcasts/bad-watchdog
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Jan 26, 2023
The Missing Text Messages (S1 E1)
How did a peaceful transfer of power devolve into the first breach of the U.S. Capitol in over two centuries? Deleted Secret Service text messages may hold important answers about what happened on January 6, 2021, but Homeland Security watchdog Joseph Cuffari failed to inform Congress for months they were missing. What’s more, Cuffari refused a request to help recover the text messages, and he halted an internal Secret Service investigation into their deletion.
Government watchdogs, called inspectors general, are supposed to hold powerful actors accountable. When they don’t do their jobs, the impacts can be disastrous. Investigators at the Project On Government Oversight examine Cuffari’s initial response to the missing Secret Service text messages and explore his abrupt change of course after a former White House aide gave shocking testimony about then-President Trump’s actions on January 6th.
For transcript and show notes, visit pogo.org/podcasts/bad-watchdog
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Jan 16, 2023
Introducing: Bad Watchdog
Government watchdogs don’t normally make the evening news. But when Homeland Security Inspector General Joseph Cuffari failed to alert Congress for months that Secret Service agents deleted text messages after January 6, he was thrust into the national spotlight. And it turns out there was a lot more that he was covering up. In a new six-part podcast, investigators from the Project On Government Oversight explore what happens when a man appointed to protect the people from fraud and abuse decides instead to protect the very agency he should be investigating. This is Bad Watchdog.
For transcript and show notes, visit pogo.org/podcasts/bad-watchdog
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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