Former Senate Investigator to Lead POGO’s New Congressional Oversight Initiative

Justin Rood, a former Senate investigator and award-winning journalist, has joined the Project On Government Oversight to direct its new Congressional Oversight Initiative.

Before joining POGO, Rood served as director of investigations on Homeland Security matters for U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), ranking member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

Previously, Rood served under Sen. Coburn as senior investigator on the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, Minority Staff. There he led a 2012 investigation into domestic intelligence fusion centers, finding them "pools of ineptitude, waste, and civil liberties intrusions," in the words of the Washington Post's front-page coverage of the report.

"For over three decades, POGO has been a firm, credible, nonpartisan voice for better oversight by and of the federal government," said Rood. "I'm excited to join them to help build Congress's capacity for oversight and investigations."

Before joining Coburn’s staff, Rood was an award-winning investigative producer and reporter with ABC News and other outlets. At ABC, Rood helped uncover the D.C. Madam scandal, which led to a number of resignations including that of Deputy Secretary of State Randall Tobias. In 2006, while at Talking Points Memo, Rood was part of a two-man reporting/blogging team that broke the story about the Bush administration dismissing seven U.S. Attorneys during a midterm purge. The story earned Talking Points Memo a Polk Award.

“Justin’s experience makes him the ideal person to help us expand on our proven track record of training congressional staff on how to conduct effective oversight,” said POGO Executive Director Danielle Brian.

Details of the new Congressional Oversight Initiative will be announced in the coming weeks.