Transmitted: July 12, 2021
To: U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)
Re: DOJ’s Handling of Potential Conflicts of Interest in the Hiring of Susan Hennessey, former Brookings Institution Senior Fellow and Special Counsel Critic
Full Request (PDF): Susan Hennessey FOIA Submission
Empower Oversight has submitted a detailed FOIA request related to the Department of Justice’s hiring of Susan Hennessey to work in the DOJ National Security Division. In light of her prejudicial comments on Twitter about Special Counsel John Durham’s ongoing investigations and her subsequent deletion of thousands of related Tweets, her ability to appear objective and impartial in any official duties related to those investigations is obviously in question.
Documents related to her hiring, consultation with career ethics officials, and what steps, if any, DOJ has taken to mitigate the appearance of a conflict are of vital public interest and should be disclosed on an expedited basis, before Special Counsel Durham completes and reports on his work.
If you have first-hand information you’d like to disclose to assist Empower Oversight with these inquiries, please contact us confidentially here.