Watchdogs: Inspectors General and the Battle for Honest and Accountable Government

The last line of defense for our institutions, and our democracy

Inspectors general may be the most important public servants you’ve never heard of. In Watchdogs, Glenn Fine--who served as the inspector general of the Department of Justice from 2000 to 2011 and the acting inspector general of the Department of Defense from 2016 to 2020--explains why all Americans should be familiar with this critical pillar of our democracy.

Drawing on his own experiences in numerous high-profile investigations over two decades, from 9/11 to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Fine provides a fascinating insider’s view of government at the highest levels, illuminating how federal officials spend our tax dollars and how inspector general oversight seeks to make government more honest and accountable. Full of revealing stories--from the FBI’s handling of evidence in the Timothy McVeigh trial to the treatment of post-9/11 detainees to investigating the US Navy’s most infamous corruption scandal--Watchdogs illustrates the mission of inspectors general in improving government operations, deterring wasteful spending, and curtailing corruption, and the ways they work every day in America’s unique system of oversight.

Glenn A. Fine formerly served as the acting Inspector General of the Department of Defense and as the Inspector General of the Department of Justice. He is a nonresident fellow at the Brookings Institution and an adjunct professor at Georgetown Law School.