A Pentagon inspector general is being investigated to determine if he destroyed documents related to a high-profile leak investigation of former National Security Agency senior official Thomas Drake.
The Justice Department sent a letter to a federal magistrate judge last week, after receiving a complaint from Drake's attorneys about the possible misconduct at the Pentagon,
McClatchy is reporting.
According to the June 11 letter from the Justice Department, investigations are underway by both the Office of Special Counsel along with a Justice Department committee that investigates alleged misconduct by inspectors general offices.
"In the event that OSC finds evidence of criminal conduct during the course of its work, it will refer that evidence to the Department of Justice for appropriate action," the letter said.
According to McClatchy, this brings up questions once more about the charges brought against Drake, who was the first among others the Obama administration charged with a controversial use of the Espionage Act for allegedly giving classified information to the media.
The investigation into Drake began after he cooperated with inquiries by both congressional and Pentagon inspectors general offices.
The Pentagon reportedly mishandled documents during the course of the investigation into Drake.
When Drake's attorneys had requested documents from the Pentagon inspector general's office that related to his case, they were told that the documents weren't provided because they were destroyed "pursuant to a standard document destruction policy."
The lawyers representing Drake now, who are different from the ones who presented him during the criminal investigation, said in a letter sent to the federal judge that the documents were in fact destroyed "outside of normal policy and to impede ... the criminal case."
McClatchy reported that this came to light when current and former officials from the Pentagon's Inspector General's Office said that there was an attempt by IG officials to "water down or [change] findings in [the Drake] investigations because of fear of political controversy."
Drake was a senior NSA official for seven years. He reportedly had tried to report to NSA superiors and Congress about what he believed was allegedly illegal activity taking place at the NSA, including the surveillance of Americans and waste and management issues,
according to RT.com.
When no one responded to his claims, he revealed the information to the press through encrypted email, but he ended up being discovered.
The case came to an end in 2011 after Drake pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge, and he was sentenced to probation. The magistrate judge is deciding how to proceed in light of this revelation.
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