A powerful House Republican wants Amtrak’s chairman and top lawyer fired.
Rep. Darrell Issa of California, chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, said in a recent letter to Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV that both Amtrak Chairman Thomas Carper and General Counsel Eleanor Acheson “unlawfully interfered” with the independence of the rail agency’s Office of Inspector General.
Mr. Issa’s firing call comes months after he and Sen. Charles E. Grassley, Iowa Republican, released a joint investigation that accused Amtrak of violating federal rules by failing to inform Congress about the 2009 removal of the rail agency’s longtime inspector general, Fred Weiderhold.
The report also said Mr. Weiderhold was targeted by Amtrak officials because of his record of exposing waste and fraud, including investigations into the Amtrak law department.
The full report appears on the Washington Times website.