Cite as: 527 U. S. 229 (1999)
Thomas, J., dissenting
control over who works for the Inspector General. Inspectors General have the authority to appoint an Assistant Inspector General for Auditing and another Assistant Inspector General for Investigations, §§ 3(d)(1), (2), may "select, appoint, and employ such officers and employees as may be necessary," § 6(a)(7), and also are authorized to employ experts and consultants and enter into contracts for audits, studies, and other necessary services, see §§ 6(a)(8), (9); see generally P. Light, Monitoring Government: Inspectors General and the Search for Accountability 175-185 (1993) (de-scribing the "unprecedented freedom" that IG's have under the Inspector General Act in organizing their offices and how IG's have enhanced their independence by exercising their statutory authority in this regard to the fullest).
Inspectors General do not derive their authority to conduct audits and investigate agency affairs from agency management. They are authorized to do so directly under the Inspector General Act. 5 U. S. C. App. § 2(1). Neither NASA's Administrator, nor any other agency official, may "prevent or prohibit the Inspector General from initiating, carrying out, or completing any audit or investigation, or from issuing any subpoena during the course of any audit or investigation." § 3(a). The Administrator also may not direct the Inspector General to undertake a particular investigation; the Inspector General Act commits to the IG's discretion the decision whether to investigate or report upon the agency's programs and operations. § 6(a)(2). The Authority's counsel argued to the contrary, but could not provide a single example of an instance where an agency head
Counsel of the Office of Special Counsel; the Director of the Office of Government Ethics; and three or more Inspectors General, representing both the President's Council on Integrity and Efficiency and the Executive Council on Integrity and Efficiency. The Chief of the Public Integrity Section of the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice, or his designee, serves as an advisor to the Integrity Committee with respect to its responsibilities and functions under the Executive Order.
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