Internet Scandal
In December 2008, the New Orleans CBS affiliate television station publicized an incident in which employees of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers used taxpayer-funded computers to post derogatory blog comments deriding citizen activists' efforts. In response to the news story, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers described the event as an isolated incident. Three days after the incident was publicized, the Commander of the New Orleans District of the Corps of Engineers, Colonel Alvin Lee, issued a formal apology. “Please accept my apology for the unprofessional comments someone in my District posted to your web site,” said the letter. “I have reinforced with my entire staff that this was an inappropriate and unacceptable use of our computers and time.” However, many residents are calling for those responsible to be fired from their posts.
On 23 June 2009, US Senator Mary Landrieu issued this statement to WWL TV Eyewitness News in New Orleans with regard to the scandal:
| “ | “I am very concerned by the reports that a number of Corps employees have engaged in a disingenuous campaign to undercut their critics in Louisiana,” Landrieu said. “My staff and I will continue to review these allegations and will urge Pentagon officials to thoroughly review this matter.” | ” |
On 29 September 2009, the Department of Defense Inspector General's Office has closed its investigation. "We believe that (corps New Orleans District office) officials took appropriate actions once informed of the allegations at issue," Assistant Inspector General John Crane said in a letter to U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La. "Accordingly, further review by this agency is not warranted." Those actions included strongly worded messages to corps employees telling them comments that demeaned corps critics were not allowed. In addition, access to the site of the Levees.org group was blocked from corps computers, preventing employees from commenting there. Lastly, the employee of a contractor—who was a former corps employee himself and was identified as using a government computer to post disparaging remarks on NOLA.com—was barred from working on corps projects.
Read more about this topic: U.S. Army Corps Of Engineers Civil Works Controversies (New Orleans)
Famous quotes containing the word scandal:
“In London, love and scandal are considered the best sweeteners of tea.”
—John Osborne (1929–1994)