The Inspector General of the US Department of Labour informed lawmakers about the Biden-Harris administration’s failure to establish proper controls for sharing confidential investigative information with external lawyers. Inspector General Anthony D’Esposito highlighted deficiencies in overseeing common interest agreements, which led to the potential misuse of sensitive government data in private litigation. He emphasized that these agreements were not meant for government alignment with private plaintiff attorneys but for sharing information among parties with shared legal interests.
The audit revealed significant shortcomings in managing these agreements within the department, with a lack of written policies, consistent approval processes, and centralized tracking. D’Esposito pointed out that some agreements were informally documented, while in one instance, an individual executed an agreement without the necessary authority. The absence of a complete inventory of agreements raised concerns, as they were scattered across various sources without proper accountability measures in place.
Government lawyers were reminded by D’Esposito that their role is to represent the United States and not private law firms. He stressed the importance of avoiding any appearance that government resources or privileged information are being used to benefit private attorneys. The inspector general’s report prompted House Republicans to express concerns about a breakdown in public trust due to the lack of safeguards in overseeing these agreements.
Democrats, on the other hand, downplayed the issue, highlighting that common interest agreements constituted a small fraction of the department’s investigations. Ranking member Mark Takano pointed out that the inspector general’s recommendations primarily focused on process-related improvements, which the Labour Department was actively implementing. The hearing also touched on broader oversight issues, including efforts to combat fraud related to H-1B visas and strengthen monitoring of common interest agreements.
