Bad Watchdog

Government watchdogs don’t normally make the evening news. But when Homeland Security Inspector General Joseph Cuffari failed to alert Congress for months that Secret Service agents deleted text messages after January 6, he was thrust into the national spotlight. And it turns out there was a lot more that he was covering up. In a new six-part podcast, investigators from the Project On Government Oversight explore what happens when a man appointed to protect the people from fraud and abuse decides instead to protect the very agency he should be investigating. This is Bad Watchdog.  For transcript and show notes, visit pogo.org/podcasts/bad-watchdog

How did a peaceful transfer of power devolve into the first breach of the U.S. Capitol in over two centuries? Deleted Secret Service text messages may hold important answers about what happened on January 6, 2021, but Homeland Security watchdog Joseph Cuffari failed to inform Congress for months they were missing. What’s more, Cuffari refused a request to help recover the text messages, and he 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 impacts can be disastrous. Investigators at the Project On Government Oversight examine 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. For transcript and show notes, visit pogo.org/podcasts/bad-watchdog

A troubling pattern of ignoring serious misconduct at the Department of Homeland Security begins to emerge. Despite widespread condemnation of law enforcement’s use of tear gas on Black Lives Matter protesters gathered in Lafayette Square in Washington, Homeland Security watchdog Joseph Cuffari declined to investigate the incident. Investigative reporters Nick Schwellenbach and Adam Zagorin walk Maren through Cuffari’s baffling refusal to investigate the Secret Service’s role in the violence in Lafayette Square or the abuse of migrants by Customs and Border Protection agents.  For transcript and show notes, visit pogo.org/podcasts/bad-watchdog

Nick and Adam discover that Cuffari’s office removed damaging findings from an official report about dozens of cases of domestic abuse by Homeland Security law enforcement agents with access to government-issued firearms, and they poke holes in Cuffari’s excuses for refusing to criticize the agencies he’s supposed to hold accountable. Maren circles up with experts to learn about how the Department of Homeland Security became home to the largest and least accountable law enforcement agency in the federal government.   For transcript and show notes, visit pogo.org/podcasts/bad-watchdog

The Homeland Security watchdog tries to bury a report on sexual harassment and misconduct at the agency, but POGO’s investigators expose the plot. Maren talks to former Border Patrol officer and current reform advocate Jenn Budd about her own painful experiences working for the agency. DHS Secretary Mayorkas responds almost immediately to Nick and Adam’s findings, and Congress starts asking questions about Cuffari.  For transcript and show notes, visit pogo.org/podcasts/bad-watchdog

Cuffari’s mismanagement of Homeland Security’s watchdog office has Maren wondering how he ended up with such an important job in the first place. She looks back at his Senate confirmation, alleged ethics violations, and dubious qualifications, and she and Nick talk with Representative Bennie Thompson (D-MS), chair of the House Committee on Homeland Security, about his efforts to hold Cuffari accountable. Nick and Adam detail Cuffari’s early fights with his own staff, and a group of anonymous watchdog office staff plead with President Biden to remove their boss.   For transcript and show notes, visit pogo.org/podcasts/bad-watchdog

In the final episode of “Bad Watchdog,” Nick and Adam discover that Cuffari knew about even more missing January 6th text messages from the Trump-era DHS leadership team, and Maren asks the million-dollar question: Why hasn’t this guy been removed from power? Experts weigh reforms to the inspector general system that would improve accountability for bad watchdogs and discuss what may be preventing President Biden from taking action. Maren gives Cuffari’s staff the final word.  For transcript and show notes, visit pogo.org/podcasts/bad-watchdog

Last week was the first time DHS Inspector General Joseph Cuffari testified in front of Congress since Bad Watchdog was released. Lawmakers took it as a chance to hold him accountable for some of the decisions he’s made as inspector general, from his delayed notification to Congress about the missing Secret Service text messages to the sexual misconduct and harassment report his office never published. Investigative reporter Nick Schwellenbach joins Maren to recap the hearing, to break down an explosive admission by Cuffari, and to share updates about Nick’s latest investigations into Cuffari — and an upcoming season two of Bad Watchdog.  For transcript and show notes, visit pogo.org/podcasts/bad-watchdog

We want to share a new podcast with you! Obscured tells stories that unfold largely out of the public eye. Investigative journalists and creators of Obscured Emily Previti and Stephanie Marudas are sharing the latest episode from their series “From Words to Weapons” with Bad Watchdog listeners. Obscured’s sixth episode of “From Words to Weapons” focuses on how county jails treat people with mental health conditions.  Emily and Stephanie talk with journalist Brett Sholtis, who investigated this issue in Pennsylvania. Brett investigated interactions between corrections officers and inmates with mental health conditions; specifically, he looked into how tasers, restraints, and other types of force are utilized within county jails. The conversation also delves into how a lack of transparency about what happens in these county jails can prevent accountability and public understanding of these issues. For more information and resources from Obscured, listeners can go to https://www.kouvendamedia.com/obscured/ and can listen to more episodes here. Links of interest: https://www.witf.org/news/mental-health-behind-bars/

In the wake of 9/11, and in fear of another attack, members of Congress agreed to create a powerful new agency, the Department of Homeland Security. Now, more than 20 years later, the agency has exploded in size. It’s doubled down on detaining immigrants — sometimes in horrifying conditions. This summer, the Project On Government Oversight’s investigative podcast Bad Watchdog returns, with a new season focused on DHS. Host Maren Machles talks with people caught up in DHS detention, with advocates, investigators, and others sounding the alarm. Delving into POGO’s investigations of the agency, she asks: How did we get to a point where every undocumented person is seen as a possible national security threat? And what does that viewpoint cost us all? If you enjoy Bad Watchdog, sign up for emails from the Project On Government Oversight to learn more about POGO’s mission and work. Bad Watchdog is a member of the Airwave Media network and a part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what’s broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.

Host Maren Machles learns more about people’s experiences in ICE detention by talking with formerly detained activist Berto Hernandez and traveling to El Paso, Texas, to hear directly from people who were recently released from ICE facilities. She explores how immigration laws and one anti-terrorism law from the 1990s influenced the current political landscape and helped create the conditions that led to the mass detention of migrants. And she unpacks an exclusive POGO investigation that reveals ICE’s dangerous overreliance on solitary confinement. To dig into what it’s really like interacting with ICE, Maren talks with Berto Hernandez, Ouderwuil Esteban Marval Rivas, Joseph Olivas, and Diego Andres. She learns how activists are trying to help by meeting up with Las Americas Director of Cross Border Strategies Crystal Sandoval. Law professor César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández, from The Ohio State University, breaks down how government policies altered today’s political landscape, and POGO Senior Investigator Nick Schwellenbach outlines his investigation on solitary confinement in ICE detention.  If you enjoy Bad Watchdog, sign up for emails from the Project On Government Oversight to learn more about POGO’s mission and work. Bad Watchdog is a member of the Airwave Media network and a part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what’s broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.

Established in the wake of September 11, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was entrusted with protecting the U.S. from national security threats. Since then, much of the agency’s focus has been on the southern border — with tens of thousands of people held in its detention centers on a daily basis. Host Maren Machles explores how this came to be and delves into what happens to people held in immigration detention centers with the presumption that they may be national security threats. And she asks the question: How does this relate to the way DHS addresses the most dangerous threat currently facing our nation — far-right violent extremism? To find out, Maren talks with Daryl Johnson, who recounts his work as the former lead analyst for domestic terrorism at DHS. She also speaks with Alejandro Beutel, a criminologist who focuses on domestic terrorism, and Berto Hernandez, who shares their story of being brought into the U.S. as a child and held in detention by Immigration and Customs Enforcement years later. If you enjoy Bad Watchdog, sign up for emails from the Project On Government Oversight to learn more about POGO’s mission and work. Bad Watchdog is a member of the Airwave Media network and a part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what’s broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.

This episode discusses suicide and recounts an incident in which a homophobic slur was used.  Maren follows the story of Berto Hernandez, who recounts their detainment at ICE’s Adelanto Detention Center and the treatment and conditions they faced inside. But when people in detention are mistreated, where can they turn for help? Experts from the Department of Homeland Security’s Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL) investigate complaints involving ICE’s detention facilities, then file reports on their findings and recommendations. Maren breaks down POGO’s investigation into three of these expert reports — and their disturbing findings regarding Adelanto’s overuse of solitary confinement. Maren talks with Berto, who shares how the conditions in Adelanto affected them and how they grew determined to fight for their release. POGO Senior Investigator Nick Schwellenbach delves into his investigation into CRCL’s reports, what those findings revealed about the problems at Adelanto, and the upcoming obstacles to get more reports out of the Department of Homeland Security. If you enjoy Bad Watchdog, sign up for emails from the Project On Government Oversight to learn more about POGO’s mission and check out our website for our full Bad Watchdog archive. Bad Watchdog is a member of the Airwave Media network and a part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what’s broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.

The Department of Homeland Security is a very large, very powerful federal agency. It’s also extremely secretive. Who monitors the agency and holds it accountable the actions it takes as part of its mission to protect the homeland? In this episode, Maren explains how hard it is just to access information about conditions in DHS detention facilities. She breaks down the ways agencies like DHS withhold information from the public — and how journalists and advocates fight back. And she explains how transparency has always been an issue at DHS, detailing how the post-9/11 push to create an agency dedicated to counterterrorism raised lawmakers’ concerns about accountability, civil rights, and civil liberties at its founding.  POGO Senior Paralegal Lance Sims walks Maren through the five-year — and, at times, absurd — legal fight to get DHS to release reports documenting abuses and poor conditions in its detention centers. Former POGO Senior Researcher Freddy Martinez examines the larger pattern these reports revealed, and what that pattern indicated about systemic issues in DHS detention facilities. If you enjoy Bad Watchdog, sign up for emails from the Project On Government Oversight to learn more about POGO’s mission and work. Bad Watchdog is a member of the Airwave Media network and a part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what’s broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.

Content note: This episode discusses suicide and sexual violence. After a years-long legal fight from the Department of Homeland Security, a court order finally gave Nick and other investigators access to 33 reports detailing conditions in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facilities. The documents showed a disturbing pattern of abuse that extended far beyond the gates of Adelanto Detention Center, spreading throughout ICE detention facilities across the United States. In this episode, Maren gets into the conditions in ICE detention and raises the question: What needs to change for this broken system to be fixed? Maren breaks down the reports with POGO’s Senior Investigator Nick Schwellenbach and former Senior Researcher Freddy Martinez. She talks with activists Berto Hernandez and Arely Westley about their experiences of the conditions in ICE detention, and she visits a Louisiana airport with LA-AID volunteer Sarah Jones to meet people who were recently released from ICE facilities. Finally, to untangle just how immigration policy became entwined with counterterrorism — and how we can fix it — Maren talks with POGO’s Katherine Hawkins, the Brennan Center for Justice’s Spencer Reynolds, and The Ohio State University Professor César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández. If you enjoy Bad Watchdog, sign up for emails from the Project On Government Oversight to learn more about POGO’s mission and work. Bad Watchdog is a member of the Airwave Media network and a part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what’s broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.

For the past few episodes, Maren has explored the reality of immigration detention, uplifting the conditions in Department of Homeland Security (DHS) centers where thousands are held under the presumption that they may be threats to national security. In the season finale of Bad Watchdog, we return to where we started, with the DHS’s counterterrorism mission. Maren breaks down the current landscape of terrorism in the United States, where the most dangerous threat isn’t posed by those who’ve crossed our borders illegally, but by homegrown, far-right, violent extremists. And, as Maren learns, domestic violent extremism isn’t just a problem across the country — it’s a problem in DHS’s own ranks as well. Domestic terrorism experts Daryl Johnson and Alejandro Buetel walk Maren through the rise of far-right violent extremism in the U.S. and interrogate whether DHS is taking the threat seriously. Maren discusses both shortfalls and potential solutions for how DHS could address far-right violent extremism with the Brennan Center for Justice’s Liberty’s Spencer Reynolds. POGO Senior Investigator Nick Schwellenbach shares his investigation into just how many Oath Keepers are or were employed at DHS. And Maren connects with people who are working to make this broken system more humane, including activists Arely Westley and Berto Hernandez, Las Americas Director of Cross-Border Strategies Crystal Sandoval, former POGO Senior Researcher Freddy Martinez, and POGO Senior Paralegal Lance Sims. To report waste, fraud, or abuse in the federal government, please visit us at https://www.pogo.org/send-us-a-tip. If you enjoy Bad Watchdog, sign up for emails from the Project On Government Oversight to learn more about POGO’s mission and work. Bad Watchdog is a member of the Airwave Media network and a part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what’s broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.

We want to share a show with you! Democracy Works comes from the McCourtney Institute for Democracy at Penn State and explores how our democracy impacts and is impacted by issues ranging from climate change to criminal justice to party politics.  In this episode, “The immigration stories that aren’t told,” hosts Michael Berkman, Cyanne Loyle, and Jenna Spinelle talk with anthropologist Jason De León. De León spent seven years embedded with a group of smugglers moving migrants across the Mexico border. His time culminated in a book titled Soldiers and Kings: Survival and Hope in the World of Human Smuggling.  We hope you find their conversation as interesting and illuminating as we did.   Learn more about Democracy Works and listen to more episodes here.   Episode link: https://www.democracyworkspodcast.com/episodes/jason-de-leon   Links of interest: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/672038/soldiers-and-kings-by-jason-de-leon/