Officials of Amtrak have "systematically violated the letter and
spirit of the Inspector General Act," Sen. Charles Grassley
(R-Iowa) charged Thursday, making public a 94-page
legal report prepared at the request of the Amtrak inspector
general who resigned suddenly a week ago.
Fred Wiederhold, a veteran IG, retired without notice or
explanation June 18 after a meeting with Amtrak
officials where he presented the report by the law firm of
Willkie, Farr & Gallagher.
"The allegations are serious, including third parties being told
to first send documents under subpoena by the Inspector General
to Amtrak for review, and the Inspector General being chastised
for communicating directly with congressional appropriations and
authorizing committees,"
Grassley said in a statement.
Grassley's accusation of illegal actions by Amtrak, including
failure to comply properly with subpoenas, is the most serious to
date in an investigation that has expanded quickly since
the IG for the AmeriCorps program was given an
ultimatum two weeks ago to resign or be fired.
In a letter to Amtrak Chairman Thomas Carper, Grassley said the
legal report "suggests a long-term and unrelenting
interference with the activities and operation" of the IG's
office. Grassley said his staff believes that members of the
Amtrak IG office "be fearful of retaliation if they were to
discuss the matters set forth in this letter with anyone,
including Congress."
Grassley requested that Carper make four Amtrak employees
"immediately available for interviews": D. Hamilton Peterson,
Deputy Counsel to the Inspector General; Edward Puccerella,
Director of Congressional & External Affairs; Colin C.
Carriere, Counsel to the Inspector General; and E. Bret Coulson,
Deputy Inspector General.
The American Spectator reported earlier Thursday
that, according to sources with knowledge of the
case, Amtrak vice president and general counsel Eleanor
"Eldie" Acheson -- a close friend of Secretary of State Hillary
Rodham Clinton -- had been involved in several of the disputes
between the money-losing passenger rail service and the IG's
office.
