We’re excited to share Bad Watchdog with you!  It’s produced by the Project on Government Oversight or POGO. 

Season 1 of Bad Watchdog tells the story of what happens when the person tasked with investigating one of the nation’s powerful agencies decides to look the other way. 

In episode 1, host Maren Machles takes us back to January 6, 2021, to the insurrection at the United States Capitol. 

How did a peaceful transfer of power turn into the first breach of the U.S. Capitol in over two centuries? We may never have all the answers, thanks to the Department of Homeland Security watchdog’s failure to alert Congress for months about deleted Secret Service text messages.  What’s more, that watchdog refused a request to help recover the texts, and even halted an internal Secret Service investigation into their deletion. 

Government watchdogs, called inspectors general, are supposed to hold powerful actors accountable. When they don’t do their jobs, the effects can be disastrous. Investigators at the Project On Government Oversight examine DHS watchdog Joseph Cuffari’s initial response to the missing Secret Service text messages and explore his abrupt change of course after a former White House aide gave shocking testimony about then-President Trump’s actions on January 6th. 

Maren Machles - Host

Nick Schwellenbach - Guest

Liz Hempowicz - Guest

Gordon Heddell – Guest

Resources:

House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the Capitol, 6/28/2022 Hearing

DHS Watchdog Failed to Sound Alarm For Months on Secret Service's Purged Jan. 6 Texts (POGO)

DHS inspector general tells Secret Service to stop investigating potentially missing texts (CNN)

Homeland Security watchdog halted plan to recover Secret Service texts, records show (Washington Post)

DHS Watchdog Nixed Alert to Congress About Purged January 6 Texts, New Docs Show (POGO)

Strengthening Government Watchdogs (POGO)

 Independence of Inspectors General is Essential (POGO)