The documents were available under the Freedom of Information Act to watchdog groups who questioned whether Bernhardt met ethical and dismissal requirements as a deputy secretary, the bureau he had at the time. A court had ordered the department to check the documents.
Bernhardt previously headed a lobbying firm that worked for fossil fuels and mining companies – which lease land from and are regulated by the Department of Home Affairs. He has submitted to ethics administrators a three-page redistribution list of companies he would not treat with Interior in his first year as such.
The report says the meeting took place the same month. Bernhardt was nominated for promotion to the position of secretary.
Towards the end of that month, government attorneys told the court that the month’s change of government and staff members had slowed their progress in checking documents. Western Values Project, which submitted for the records, notes that Home Affairs work on oil and gas permits continued during the shutdown.
One lawyer told the Inspector General that the order to withhold the documents “was because Bernhardt heard waiting for his confirmation” and it “was to remain in place until after Bernhardt’s confirmation.”
The top advocate for interior design careers for FOIA issues at the time told investigators that he believed the “do not hold off and produce nothing” direction is not “let’s take a hard look at these documents and make appropriate decisions about what to do with them.” to do them, based on that careful review. ‘”
The Inspector-General did not conclude whether the department complied with the court order properly or not.
In response to the report, Todd Willens’ Department of Homeland Security staff found that the Department of Justice had agreed that Interior had complied with the court order. He noted that the documents withheld did not include “a single email, document or communication from Secretary Bernhardt.”
Most of the 253 pages related to Bernhardt were released seven months after his confirmation, the report says.
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