EPA Inspector General Warns of Evidence Loss in Ethics Probe Due to Inaccessible Mobile Devices of Ex-Official.

The EPA’s Office of Inspector General has alerted the agency’s staff that it cannot access mobile devices for a former senior official facing an ethics investigation due to a lack of access to records crucial for their review. The issue arose during the inspector general’s probe of the ex-official during which the issue was discovered. The watchdog agency has urged the agency to preserve the mobile devices of departing employees to prevent the loss of evidence. This comes as EPA is under an administrative investigation of a senior official for alleged ethics violations.