WASHINGTON – The official who investigates potential misdeeds at the Department of Homeland Security is under investigation by a Senate oversight panel for allegations of nepotism, abusing his position and covering up details from the Secret Service prostitution scandal.
Senate investigators are looking into allegations that Deputy Inspector General Charles K. Edwards was "susceptible to political pressure" and that he withheld information about the misconduct of U.S. Secret Service agents who were caught with prostitutes before a White House trip to Colombia in April 2012, according to a letter sent to Edwards by two senators on June 27.
"Numerous" complaints from DHS employees allege that Edwards improperly employed his wife as a government auditor and that he arranged for her to work from India for seven months, according to the letter from Sen. Claire McCaskill, the Missouri Democrat who chairs the oversight subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, and the subcommittee's top Republican, Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin.
Subordinates also alleged that Edwards gave bonuses to employees who helped him write a dissertation paper for a Ph.D. course at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and complete lesson plans for a course he taught as an adjunct professor at Capitol College in Laurel, Md., the letter states.
The senators requested Edwards provide 2½ years of documents and permission to interview four employees who worked under him.
The White House has not nominated a candidate for inspector general at DHS for more than two years, so Edwards has been the most senior official in the office since February 2011. Some members of Congress believe he has tried to curry favor with the Obama administration by softening his reports in hopes of being nominated as permanent head of the department.
On Tuesday, Edwards took a break from what he described as a "family vacation in India" to issue a bulletin under the Office of Inspector General letterhead. In it, he denied any wrongdoing and said the allegations were "completely without merit."
"I will defend myself against these personal attacks," Edwards wrote during a trip to Chennai, formerly known as Madras, an industrial city on the Bay of Bengal known as the "Detroit of India." Edwards said that similar allegations have been reviewed and dismissed by other oversight bodies.
"I am very disturbed that false allegations have been made against me, but more importantly, I am very concerned that this matter may negatively impact the important oversight work of the Office of Inspector General," Edwards wrote.
Edwards said he is prevented by federal rules from disclosing information in his defense.
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