The Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general is accusing his agency of slow-walking the public release of a report about confusion that ensued earlier this year after President Trump issued his first travel ban executive order, Politico reports. The unreleased inspector general report found that senior managers at Customs and Border Protection were “caught by surprise” by Trump’s order and that agency officials “violated two court orders” limiting implementation of Trump’s directive to suspend travel to the U.S. by citizens of seven majority-Muslim countries. The report’s conclusions appear to contradict the picture the White House tried to paint of the execution of Trump’s Jan. 27 order, which led to confusion throughout the air travel system, protests at airports and delays at ports of entry to the U.S.
“It really is a massive success story in terms of implementation on every single level,” a senior administration official said after Trump ordered the move. Inspector General John Roth told Congress on Monday that his 87-page report was sent to DHS leadership Oct. 6, but officials have declined to authorize its release. Roth was told the report is under review for information that may be subject to attorney-client privilege or to a privilege protecting the agency’s “deliberative process.” Roth said, “I am very troubled by this development.”