Profile in Courage - Detroit Inspector General Ellen Ha

Being an Inspector General (IG) is no easy gig, just ask Kelly Madigan and Isabel Cumming. These public servants inevitably go toe-to-toe with charming politicians hiding not-so-charming secrets, and corrupt officials won’t go down without a fight.

The most successful IGs drown out the noise and do their best to restore trust and accountability to government. Recently-retired Detroit IG Ellen Ha did just that, battling cronyism and keeping crooks on the run. And, for giving the troubled “Motor City” something to be proud of, Ellen Ha is a Profile in Courage.

Ha spent the first ten years of her life in South Korea. The country was far from the peaceful and prosperous place it is today and suffered under the regime of President Park Chung Hee. Sweeping arrests of rivals and dissidents plagued a nation only a generation removed from the devastating Korean War. Ha’s parents were determined to move the family to the U.S. for a shot at the American dream. The family set up shop in Detroit and found some success running clothing shops in the city and Highland Park (an enclave of Detroit). However, the Ha’s faced a devastating blow in 1992 when Ellen’s father was fatally shot on the job. Ha recalls in an August interview with Outlier Media reporter Laura Herberg, “I was working at the city as a law clerk when I got this phone call. I had to go and identify my dad’s body. That was very difficult for me.”

Determined to make her dad proud, she first rose up the ranks in private legal practice and then pivoted to public service as an attorney for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Her true calling, though, was fighting cronyism and corruption within the City of Detroit. As Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) coordinator under the tenure of embattled Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, Ha felt hamstringed by a secretive administration. Ha recalls, “there were so many times during the Kilpatrick administration when I was so thankful that reporters would submit a (FOIA) request, because it was exposure.”

Ha became Detroit’s second inspector general in 2018, and immediately got to work exposing the many problems with city government. Detroit Free Press reporter Dana Afana recounts, “early in her term, she investigated and concluded that Mayor Mike Duggan gave preferential treatment to the prenatal health program, Make Your Date, and that his chief of staff ordered emails regarding the program to be deleted. Make Your Date is a program run by his wife, Dr. Sonia Hassan, to whom he was not married at the time.” In holding Duggan accountable, Ha had to tussle with her former bosses at the Law Department, who she said were holding up her investigations. But, ultimately, Ha recognized that “the collision in public was unavoidable under the circumstances. The dispute was genuine and seemed irreconcilable.” While Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced in 2021 that Duggan was cleared of criminal wrongdoing, she added “the absence of adequate evidence to charge individuals with crimes does
not absolve the parties of their ethical obligation to meet the expectations of public trust inherent to their roles as employees and officials of the City of Detroit.” Ha has seen to it that, even if city leaders don’t face criminal conviction for misdeeds, they at least must answer to the public.

Ha has also struck a hard line regarding bribery and the illegal “purchase” of municipal towing contracts. After towing company owner Gasper Fiore was sentenced to prison in 2018 for illegally obtaining contracts, Ha made sure that his alleged business associates were barred from getting taxpayer dollars. She rightly noted in 2019, “The people of Detroit entrusted us to hold people and businesses accountable for their actions. In this instance, we are holding these tow contractors accountable.”

For looking out for taxpayers and keeping her beloved city honest, IG Ha is absolutely a Profile in Courage.

The Growing FOIA Backlog Undermines Government Transparency

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that while federal agencies are generally required to process open records requests within 20 working days, the backlog of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests has risen considerably in recent years. In its own efforts in obtaining public information for the public, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance Foundation (TPAF) has experienced significant delays, waiting more than a year on at least one FOIA request. GAO found that by fiscal 2022, the federal FOIA backlog had grown to more than 200,000, continuing a long-term upward trend.

In November 2023, TPAF requested from the Agriculture Department information relating to Alaska broadband grant applications, as well as information relating to monoclonal antibodies discussions at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Previously, in June 2023, TPAF sought a letter regarding the Transportation Security Administration’s audit of CLEAR. Of those three, only TSA has responded, sending an email in September 2023 showing how TPAF could track the status of the request. But there have been no updates in the 12 months since.

TPAF has found that some agencies have been more forthcoming than others. For example, the Food and Drug Administration has generally responded in a timely manner to the watchdog’s requests and produced a range of information from World Health Organization-related discussions to phase product approvals.

Other agencies such as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau drag their feet and resort to obstruction tactics. On May 24, TPAF requested that the CFPB release documents related to a recently produced agency report. Despite the agency giving no indication on its website as to who was involved in writing the report, CFPB responded on May 30 telling TPAF it could not fulfill its request unless TPAF provided the names of agency employees for email search purposes. TPAF responded on June 17 explaining the impossibility of that demand, and three months later, has yet to hear back from the CFPB.

These results are far afield from how FOIAs are supposed to work. Agencies are required to respond to requests within 20 business days, with the response including a determination of the scope of the documents the agency will produce and any exemptions they will claim with respect to any withheld information. Then, the agency must either provide documents to the requester, explain why more time is needed to gather the information, or inform the requester why their request was denied. The agency can also work with the requester to narrow the scope of the request and arrange an alternative time frame for processing the amended request.

GAO discovered that other federal agencies have worse backlogs than the ones queried by TPAF. The office found that the Justice Department, Homeland Security, Defense, State, and Health and Human Services accounted for 80% of all backlogged requests. In an analysis of chief FOIA officer reports from those agencies from 2019 to 2023, GAO found that the greatest factors adding to the open-records request backlogs are staffing and increasingly more complex and wide-ranging FOIA requests.

Litigation is also a major factor, with the number of FOIA litigation cases filed more than doubling from 2013 to 2022. One federal employee told GAO that 90% of the agency’s FOIA resources are dedicated to processing cases in FOIA litigation. GAO notes that FOIA is a critical tool for the public to access federal government information, but that the “growing government-wide request backlog undermines transparency and accountability.” The federal auditor recommended that the DOJ’s Office of Information Policy require that agencies include elements of effective action plans in their backlog reduction plans, including specific goals, performance measures and time frames for implementing actions.

A more streamlined system will hopefully help federal agencies clear their backlogs. Americans deserve transparency in their government that cannot be achieved if they can’t access information about federal agencies’ decision-making.


BLOGS:

Monday: Congress Must Do More To Curb Improper Payments ([link removed])

Tuesday: What You Should Be Reading: September 2024 ([link removed])

Wednesday: Willmar Moves Forward on $25 Million Government Internet Project ([link removed])

Friday: DOJ Consults Nvidia's Critics In Its Shameful Attack ([link removed])


Media:

September 19, 2024: The Tampa Free Press (Tampa, Fla.) mentioned TPA in their article, “Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul Intros ‘Six Penny Plan’ To Balance Federal Budget In 5 Years.”

September 19, 2024: CNHI News Service (Birmingham, AL) quoted TPA in their article, “Hamilton County hears plan for $1.25B Paycor renovation for Bengals.”

September 19, 2024: Yahoo.com mentioned TPA in their article, “Shaheen seeks big cuts in crop insurance subsidies.”

September 19, 2024: Black Chronicle (Oklahoma City, Okla.) quoted TPA in their article, “Hamilton County hears plan for $1.25B Paycor renovation for Bengals.”

September 19, 2024: Targeted News Service quoted TPA in their article, “Dr. Rand Paul Introduces Six Penny Plan to Balance the Federal Budget in Five Years.”

September 19, 2024: The Center Square: Ohio quoted TPA in their article, “Hamilton County hears plan for $1.25B Paycor renovation for Bengals”

September 19, 2024: National Review ran TPA’s op-ed, “Why Conservatives Are Wrong to Support the Kids Online Safety Act.”

September 19, 2024: Wisconsin Politics (Wisconsin) ran TPA’s op-ed, “GOP stymies excessive broadband spending in Wisconsin.”

September 19, 2024: I appeared on WBOB 600 AM (Jacksonville, Fla.) to talk about inflation.

September 20, 2024: AM 1420 The Answer (Independence, Ohio) quoted TPA in their article, “Hamilton County hears plan for $1.25B Paycor renovation for Bengals.”

September 20, 2024: AOL mentioned TPA in their article, “Shaheen seeks big cuts in crop insurance subsidies.”

September 20, 2024: Tampa Free Press (Tampa, Fla.) mentioned TPA in their article, “Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul Intros ‘Six Penny Plan’ To Balance Federal Budget In 5 Years.”

September 20, 2024: States News Service quoted TPA in their article, “Dr. Rand Paul Introduces Six Penny Plan to Balance the Federal Budget in Five Years.”

September 20, 2024: Route Fifty (Northwest Washington, US) mentioned TPA in their article, “The IRS has made its free tax filing tool permanent. Now, these states want to take it a step further.”

September 21, 2024: AM 560 The Answer (Elk Grove Village, IL) quoted TPA in their article, “Hamilton County hears plan for $1.25B Paycor renovation for Bengals.”

September 23, 2024: Baltimore Sun (Baltimore, Md.) quoted me in their article, “‘Shroud of mystery’: Baltimore County’s ballooning bill for an agency headquarters.”

September 23, 2024: Maryland Gazette (Annapolis, Md.) quoted me in their article, “‘Shroud of mystery’: Baltimore County’s ballooning bill for an agency headquarters.”

September 23, 2024: Yahoo! News quoted me in their article, “‘Shroud of mystery’: Baltimore County’s ballooning bill for an agency headquarters.”

September 23, 2024: Baltimore Post (Baltimore, Md.) quoted me in their article, “‘Shroud of mystery’: Baltimore County’s ballooning bill for an agency headquarters.”

September 23, 2024: WBFF Fox45 (Baltimore, Md.) interviewed me for their story on Baltimore’s possible gas leaf blower ban.

September 24, 2024: Yahoo! News quoted TPA in their article, “Baltimore City Council report card: Nick Mosby.”

September 24, 2024: Impact News Service mentioned TPA in their article, “Shaheen Introduces Crop Insurance Reform Bill That Would Save Taxpayers More Than $40 Billion.”

September 24, 2024: Baltimore Sun (Baltimore, Md.) quoted TPA in their article, “Baltimore City Council report card: Nick Mosby.”

September 24, 2024: Maryland Gazette (Annapolis, Md.) quoted TPA in their article, “Baltimore City Council report card: Nick Mosby.”

September 24, 2024: Baltimore County Fraternal Order of Police quoted TPA in their article, “‘Shroud of mystery’: Baltimore County’s ballooning bill for an agency headquarters.”

September 24, 2024: The Baltimore Sun (Baltimore, Md.) quoted TPA in their article, “Nick Mosby Baltimore City Council report card.”

September 24, 2024: The Baltimore Sun (Baltimore, Md.) quoted TPA in their article, “Baltimore County's ballooning bill for a new parks HQ.”

September 25, 2024: Galion Inquirer (Mt. Gilead, Ohio) quoted TPA in their article, “Paycor Stadium renovations proposed.”

September 25, 2024: Targeted News Service quoted TPA in their article, “Dr. Rand Paul Forces Vote on Six Penny Plan to Balance the Federal Budget in Five Years.”

September 26, 2024: The Bristol Press (Bristol, Conn.) ran TPA’s op-ed, “The Postal Service's war on privacy.”

September 26, 2024: WBFF Fox45 (Baltimore, MD) interviewed me for their story on Baltimore County building in Towson using funds from the Open Space Program.

September 26, 2024: I appeared on WBOB 600 AM (Jacksonville, Fla.) to talk about Big Tech antitrust legislation.

September 26, 2024: The Chronicle (Willimantic, Conn.) ran TPA’s op-ed, “The Postal Service's war on privacy.”

September 26, 2024: American Family News quoted TPA in their article, “One goal, two very different approaches for Trump, Harris.”

September 27, 2024: RealClear Markets ran TPA’s op-ed, “DOJ Consults Nvidia's Critics In Its Shameful Attack.”

September 27, 2024: National Taxpayers Union mentioned TPA in their article, “NTU Sends Letter to Lawmakers on Missile Defense Program.”

September 30, 2024: WBFF Fox Baltimore (Baltimore, Md.) quoted me in their article, “Baltimore's youth fund claims transparency after FOX45 reports lack of city auditing.”

September 30, 2024: Issues & Insights ran TPA’s op-ed, “The Growing FOIA Backlog Undermines Government Transparency.”

October 2, 2024: Florida Daily (Fleming Island, FL) ran TPA’s op-ed, “A Tax On Unrealized Gains Would Be a Disaster.”

October 2, 2024: The Morrow County Sentinel (Mount Gilead, OH) quoted TPA in their article, “Paycor Stadium renovations proposed.”

October 2, 2024: WBFF Fox Baltimore (Maryland, US) quoted me in their article, “Mayor delays release of DPW investigation findings after worker's death.”

October 2, 2024: Breitbart quoted Dan in their article, “Dick Durbin Touts Justice Dept Lawsuit Against Visa After Successfully Pushing Government Investigation of Opponents of His Credit Card Bill.”

October 2, 2024: Middle East Eye (United Kingdom) quoted Dan in their article, “‘Two sides of same coin’: social media reacts to US VP candidate’s unified Israel stance.”

October 3, 2024: Florida Daily (Fleming Island, FL) quoted me in their article, “Florida Port Strikes Could Cost the U.S. Economy Billions.”

October 3, 2024: WBFF Fox45 (Baltimore, Md.) interviewed me for their story on whether or not to reduce the size of the Baltimore city council.

October 3, 2024: Real Clear Markets ran TPA’s op-ed, “The IRS’s Dangerous Dance with Political Vendettas.”

October 3, 2024: I appeared on WBOB 600 AM (Jacksonville, Fla.) to talk about the port strike and deficit and debt.

Have a great weekend!

Best,

David Williams
President
Taxpayers Protection Alliance
1101 14th Street, NW
Suite 1120
Washington, D.C. xxxxxx

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