Background Use of social media has become prevalent among Federal executive branch employees and agencies. The U.S. Office of Government Ethics (OGE) is aware that agency ethics officials have an interest in understanding how the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Executive Branch Employees (Standards of Conduct), 5 C.F.R. part 2635, apply to the use of social media. This interest is reflected in the increased volume of questions that OGE receives from various agencies seeking advice in this area. As an initial matter, the Standards of Conduct do not prohibit executive branch employees from establishing and maintaining personal social media accounts.…
Author: John Greenewald
Background Abstract from the report: At the request of Director, National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), the NRO Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted an Inspection of Program-S. The final inspection report is attached. This report contains no formal recommendations. However, the OIG provided a draft report to key stakeholders for technical accuracy review prior to final issuance, and the [ REDACTEDREDACTEDREDACTEDREDACTEDREDACTEDREDACTEDREDACTED ] requested an opportunity to provide management comments. Management comments are included in Appendix A of this report. The below is the declassified OIG report, but sadly, not much can be deduced on what PROJECT-S actually is. I have filed…
Background The NRO OIG engaged the independent public accounting firm of PWC to audit the NRO FY 2014 financial statements in order to express an independent opinion regarding those statements. The contract between PwC and the NRO OIG requires that the audit be performed in accordance with Government Auditing Standards, issued by the Comptroller General of the United States’ Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Bulletin No. 14-02, Audit Requirements for Federal Financial Statements; and the Government Accountability Office/President’s Countcil on Integrity and Efficiency Financial Audit Manual. Declassified Audit Office of Inspector General Audit of the National Reconnaissance Office Fiscal…
Background According to the Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC): “A DoD scientific and technical wiki, DoDTechipedia is designed to increase communication and collaboration among DoD scientists, engineers, program managers and operational warfighters. This collaborative tool promotes the rapid development of technology and innovative solutions to meet critical needs.” The DODTechipedia is accessible at: https://www.DoDTechipedia.mil, however, it is only available to approved users, and defense personnel. This is similar to the Intellipedia, operated by the National Security Agency (NSA). Below, you will find the released documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). DODTechipedia User Manuals DODTechipedia User Guide v 5.0, March…
Background According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)’s website, their mission is: To prevent business practices that are anticompetitive or deceptive or unfair to consumers; to enhance informed consumer choice and public understanding of the competitive process; and to accomplish this without unduly burdening legitimate business activity. Under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), you are able to request complaints received by the FTC about certain products. For the below, I requested the complaints submitted by consumers, about marijuana related products. This would include complaints about marketing, labeling and even advertising. Document Archive FOIA Response for Complaints submitted January 1,…