Opinion ID: 755736
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Steele Fraud, Waste, and Abuse Complaint

Text: 19 The Steele complaint was processed by the Office of the Inspector General. The district court held that (1) the Steele complaint is not amendable because it is a statement of opinion, and (2) the Privacy Act does not apply because [c]omplaints made to the Inspector General are exempt from disclosure. Because we affirm on the second basis, we do not need to address the first reason for the district court's ruling. 20 The district court correctly held that the Air Force has exempted the Inspector General's records from § 552a(d) of the Privacy Act. Under 5 U.S.C. § 552a(k)(2): 21 The head of any agency may promulgate rules ... to exempt any system of records within the agency from subsections (c)(3), (d), (e)(1), (e)(4)(G), (H), and (I) and (f) of this section if the system of records is- 22 ... 23 (2) investigatory material compiled for law enforcement purposes, other than material within the scope of subsection (j)(2) of this section: Provided, however, That if any individual is denied any right, privilege, or benefit that he would otherwise be entitled by Federal law, or for which he would otherwise be eligible, as a result of the maintenance of such material, such material shall be provided to such individual.... 24 The Air Force has promulgated a regulation to exempt Inspector General records from disclosure under the Privacy Act. See 32 C.F.R. Pt. 806b, App. C, § (b)(12) (1997). 1 Steele's fraud, waste, and abuse complaint, which alleged possible violations of military and federal law, comes within § 552a(k)(2)'s specification of investigatory material compiled for law enforcement purposes. See Viotti v. United States Air Force, 902 F.Supp. 1331, 1335 (D.Colo.1995). Although Major Gowan argues that fraud, waste, and abuse complaints do not constitute investigatory material, the complaint is the catalyst of the investigation and thus comes within the parameters of § 552a(k)(2). Further, the charges contained in the complaint were deemed unworthy of further action, so that § 552a(k)(2)'s exception, which requires disclosure where the subject has been denied a benefit because of the record, is inapplicable. Cf. Viotti, 902 F.Supp. at 1336. 25 Because this fraud, waste, and abuse complaint is properly exempt from § 552a(d), Major Gowan does not have a Privacy Act cause of action to require the Air Force to amend the records or attach a statement of disagreement. Where, as here, an agency has properly exempted its records, the agency no longer has any obligation to disclose those records--irrespective of the underlying motives of the agency or the impact of the records upon the parties. Nolan v. United States Dept. of Justice, 973 F.2d 843, 848-49 (10th Cir.1992); see also Aquino v. Stone, 957 F.2d 139, 143 (4th Cir.1992); Doe v. Federal Bureau of Investigation, 936 F.2d 1346, 1352 (D.C.Cir.1991); Alexander v. United States, 787 F.2d 1349, 1351-52 (9th Cir.1986); Wentz v. Department of Justice, 772 F.2d 335, 338 (7th Cir.1985) (You cannot amend a document if you don't have access to it.).