MEMORANDUM TO: FROM: RE: Senator Ribicoff David R. Schaefer and Blain B. Butner March 10, 1976 Historical Incidents Where a Division of Government The following are cases where a Division of Government Crimes within the Justice Department or an independent temporary Special Prosecutor would have been helpful because (1) there was the appearance of a conflict of interest (if not an actual conflict of interest) when the Department of Justice handled a criminal investigation, or (2) there was doubt as to whether the Department of Justice vigorously pursued possible criminal wrongdoing by government officials.* 1. ERNEST FITZGERALD In November 1968 Ernest Fitzgerald worked in the Department of Defense as the Deputy for Management Systems in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Financial Management. In three years on the job, Fitzgerald had built a strong record as a cost analyst and had received enthusiastic praise from his associates and superiors. In September 1968 he had been awarded career tenure. On November 13, 1968, Fitzgerald testified before the Economy in Government Subcommittee of the Joint Economic Committee. He admitted that the C-5A cargo plane contract was running $2 billion over estimated costs. * Extensive memoranda substantiating the factual statements made below were prepared by the Congressional Research Service and are in the files of the Committee on Government Operations. 2. Two days later, Fitzgerald's career tenure was retroactively revoked, attributed to a computer error. He was subsequently assigned to progressively less important jobs and was ostracized by officials in the Department. On November 4, 1969, Fitzgerald was fired altogether and was informed that his job had been eliminated because of a reduction-in-force economy move. It would appear to be a violation of 18 U.S.C. 1505, which prohibits injuring of a Government employee for congressional testimony, if Fitzgerald was demoted and fired because of his testimony about cost overruns on the C-5A. Fitzgerald challenged his dismissal before the Civil Service Commission. Also, Senator William Proxmire and Representative Jack Brooks asked for a Department of Justice investigation into whether officials involved in the Fitzgerald case attempted to impede congressional testimony. The Justice Department promised a prompt review of the Fitzgerald case. Assistant Attorney General Will Wilson later disclosed that the Air Force had already conducted a review of the case, but had not interviewed Fitzgerald. He said that a file had been assembled and that all information tending to vindicate Fitzgerald had been removed, while all derogatory information was maintained. Wilson also announced his decision to delay a Justice Department investigation until the Civil Service |