Deirdre Walsh, the former Chief Operating Officer of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), has agreed to pay $20,000 to resolve allegations that she violated post-government employment restrictions during the one-year cooling off period after she left the ODNI.
“The U.S. Department of Justice is committed to enforcing the restrictions imposed on officers and employees of the Executive Branch after they leave the government, especially those who held senior positions, in order to protect the integrity of the Executive Branch,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “This resolution should work to deter individuals from attempting to exert undue influence on their former agency.”
“The collaboration between our IC OIG investigators and Department of Justice partners on this case exemplifies effective interagency oversight,” said Intelligence Community Inspector General Christopher Fox. “This outcome reinforces the critical importance of working across agency boundaries to strengthen national security. Regardless of position or title, we will hold people accountable.”
The United States alleged that within the first year after leaving employment at the ODNI, Walsh contacted an ODNI employee on behalf of her employer, a government contractor, regarding a request for equitable adjustment (REA) valued at approximately $18 million. Her employer’s senior leadership had identified Walsh as part of a “pressure campaign” in connection with the REA on or around the same day that Walsh contacted the ODNI employee. This conduct violated Walsh’s post-government employment restrictions under 18 U.S.C. § 207(c), which prohibits any former senior officer or employee of the Executive Branch from knowingly making, within one year of her termination and with the intent to influence, any communication to or appearance before any officer or employee of the department or agency in which she served within one year before such termination, on behalf of any other person, in connection with any matter on which she seeks official action by any officer or employee of such department or agency. Under 18 U.S.C. § 216(b), a person who violates Section 208 is liable for a civil monetary penalty, and Walsh has agreed to pay a $20,000 civil penalty to resolve the allegations that her conduct violated her post-government employment restrictions.
The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, and the Intelligence Community Office of the Inspector General.
The matter was handled by Trial Attorney Robin Overby of the Civil Division.
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.