Disciplining Rogue Actors: Bringing the DOJ and FBI to heel

For two years, congressional committees have been trying to fulfill their responsibilities for oversight of the executive branch and get the information they need to assess the performance of the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the special prosecutor in their respective investigations of Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

The DOJ and FBI, however, have stonewalled congressional requests for information, or so severely redacted the material they released that it was of little value. This situation has been referred to as a real-life constitutional crisis.

The core problem lies in our failure to enforce the law against federal officials, which prolongs the drama and offers little hope of a satisfactory conclusion. As a result, we have watched the charade in Washington for two years and it is still unresolved despite the persistent efforts of some leaders of Congress. By no stretch of imagination can this be called an effective government.

But Act 2 has a solution: The new States’ Compact will make quick work of forcing transparency and accountability on the DOJ and FBI by threatening enforcement action against the individuals responsible for the delaying tactics. This reform will also obviate the need for special prosecutors in the future since enforcing the law against federal officials (which naturally includes investigating suspected misbehavior) will be a daily responsibility of the new Compact. Consider how dramatically this would change the culture of Washington, and free up congressional leaders to spend time on our real (rather than contrived) issues!