Former DoD Inspector General: Lack of IG in Clinton’s State Department Contributed to Security Failings in Benghazi

A lack of objective oversight very likely contributed to the just-leaked State Department scandals, and even the disastrous events of 9-11-12, fears former Department of Defense Inspector General Joseph Schmitz.

“There are very serious issues involving the lack of independence of the State Department IG office which are directly tied to the security that wasn’t in place in Benghazi, and with regard to the false information that was propagated by senior State Department officials after Benghazi about the cause of the terrorist attack.”

On Tuesday’s Secure Freedom Radio, Schmitz explains the important and historical role that Inspectors General play in the United States. As outlined in his new book, The Inspector General’s Handbook, “The Inspector General concept literally goes back to the Revolutionary War….What the role of the IG is, by very deep American tradition, is the eyes and ears of the head of an agency, or in the military context of the commander. This is just part of human nature, where you have a commander who’s ultimately responsible…for everything that happens under the term of that leader.”

In order for this oversight to function as intended, Schmitz says, “You do not want somebody investigating somebody else if the person being investigated can directly or indirectly influence the livelihood of the investigator.”

According to Schmitz, this impartial protection broke down between Hillary Clinton’s State Department and its Inspector General office when an official IG was not appointed during Clinton’s tenure.

“There appears to be a deliberate effort at the very top, involving both Hillary Clinton and President Obama, not to fill the office of the Inspector General with a presidentially-nominated, Senate confirmed and then presidentially-appointed, independent and objective professional to help Hillary Clinton deal with these types of scandals.”

The conclusion Schmitz takes from the leaked memo and what is known about the Benghazi attack is thus that there was a crucial failing on the part of Hillary Clinton, since “all the stuff that happened at the State Department for the first Obama administration happened under the watch of Hillary Clinton. So, in theory, Hillary Clinton is responsible for everything that happens. But, in theory, Hillary Clinton is also supposed to be empowered by law to have this independent and objective unit within the State Department to help her to watchdog the agency that she’s ultimately responsible for.”