(NewsNation) — Gail Ennis, who recently resigned after five years as inspector general of the Social Security Administration, abused her authority and undermined the integrity of her office, a report from a committee of federal watchdogs concludes.
The report, obtained by The Washington Post, says Ennis interfered in an investigation into her office’s anti-fraud program that issued huge fines on people accused of defrauding federal disability benefits programs.
In 2022, the Post published details of the anti-fraud program that levied fines far above what people received, often mistakenly, from Social Security.
Earlier this year, Senate Finance Committee chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore. called on President Joe Biden to remove Ennis.
“Under her leadership, SSA OIG (Office of Inspector General) has been plagued by complaints of a hostile work environment, retaliatory civil lawsuits filed against fellow employees, abysmal staff morale ratings, and falling productivity,” Wyden wrote.
The new report obtained by the Post focused on Ennis’ behavior during the internal investigation of how her office ran the anti-fraud effort. It says, starting early this year, Ennis actively obstructed the investigation.
“Ennis made incomplete, misleading, and inaccurate representations about another OIG … failed to retract, withdraw, or otherwise modify those representations when informed they were untrue; and then wrongfully obstructed the IC’s investigation of her and other SSA OIG executives,” the report said.
It also says Ennis, instead of recusing herself, “participated personally and substantially in … decision-making regarding the (integrity committee) … investigation into her conduct, in clear violation of federal ethics requirements.”
In a response added to the report, Ennis disputed the allegations against her, especially that she had refused to be interviewed. She said she offered herself for an interview, but investigators refused to accommodate her schedule.
“The refusal to interview me prior to issuing this report demonstrates that this entire process is a sham,” Ennis wrote. “(The) characterization of my inability to interview with them before May 10 as “refusing” to interview me is absurd.”
