City of Atlanta asks FBI, DOJ to disregard whistleblower letter from Inspector General staff

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - On Wednesday, the City of Atlanta sent a letter to state and federal law enforcement agencies asking them to “disregard” a letter sent earlier this week by staff of the Office of the Inspector General (OIG).

“Gentlemen, the authors of that communication are current or former employees of the City of Atlanta’s Office of Inspector General who are disgruntled and disagree with the City’s actions to amend the legislation governing the Office,” wrote City Attorney Patrise Perkins-Hooker.

Perkins-Hooker sent the letter, acquired by Atlanta News First, to Garrett Bradford, with the Public Integrity Unit of the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, Paul Brown, Special Agent in Charge of Atlanta’s Field Office of the FBI, Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr, and Georgia Inspector General Nigel Lange.

Perkins-Hooker referenced a letter sent March 3 by five current and former staff members of the OIG addressed to those same agencies.

In that letter, acquired by Atlanta News First, staff outlined alleged criminal wrongdoing by Mayor Andre Dickens, members of his cabinet, and other city officials in investigations opened by the OIG.

On Wednesday, Atlanta News First asked Mayor Dickens about the allegations.

“If you’ve been investigating for two or three years and you haven’t actually found anything, then there is nothing there,” said Dickens in an interview with Atlanta News First.

Perkins-Hooker said the interim Inspector General, appointed by Perkins-Hooker and the City, would work to finalize the investigations of the complaints outlined in the staff letter.

“If you will note, many of the so-called criminal allegations involve offenses, which if true, would only constitute violations of the City of Atlanta’s Ethics Code,” said Perkins-Hooker in the letter sent Wednesday.

“I would appreciate your disregard of the previous communication,” wrote Perkins-Hooker.

It’s unclear if the four agencies will investigate the claims outlined by the OIG staff.

Atlanta News First reached out to the DOJ, Attorney General, GA Inspector General and Atlanta’s FBI Office.

A spokesperson for the FBI responded with the following statement:

“FBI Atlanta has not yet received the letter in question. However, the FBI receives many complaints of criminal activity and how we handle them is a confidential process. Similarly, to protect the privacy of people who contact the FBI, we cannot confirm or deny any particular contact. As a general matter, allegations of criminal conduct are reviewed by the FBI for their merit, with consideration of any applicable federal laws.”

A spokesperson for the Attorney General’s Office said the AG has “no involvement” in these complaints.

The staff members asked for whistleblower protections in connection with the release of these investigations.

“By virtue of this letter and the known activities discovered during these and other active investigations, we hereby request whistleblower protection, for ourselves and the reporters of information to OIG, from retaliation by city officials of the City of Atlanta,” wrote the staff members in the March 3 letter.

On Wednesday, legal counsel for the City of Atlanta wrote to Atlanta’s City Council calling the OIG staff letter “flawed.”

“The “Request for Protection” Letter is based on a flawed and erroneous premise that cannot be ignored or overlooked,” wrote Tony Cochran, Counsel for the City of Atlanta.

Cochran said the staff mistakenly sought federal whistleblower protection despite being city employees.

He also argued that by releasing confidential information tied to their investigations, the OIG staff violated the City’s Ethics Code.

“In sum, the Request for Protection is a breach of the undersigned employees’ duty to maintain the confidential nature of their investigations, which privilege would foreclose whistleblower protection,” wrote Cochran.