Sentence:  Petitioner was not denied due process in the administrative proceedings , because the statement in question was in his file , to which he had access , and he had opportunities to rebut it both before the <WSD>hearing</WSD> officer of the Department of Justice and before the appeal board . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  an official appointed by a government agency to conduct an investigation or administrative hearing so that the agency can exercise its statutory powers