# The federal watchdog system was built to be independent by design, a former inspector general tells us why that design still matters

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-federal-drive-with-terry-gerton-504783/the-federal-watchdog-system-was-built-to-be-independent-by-design-a-former-inspector-general-tells-us-why-that-design-still-matters
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-federal-drive-with-terry-gerton-504783/the-federal-watchdog-system-was-built-to-be-independent-by-design-a-former-inspector-general-tells-us-why-that-design-still-matters.md
Podcast: [The Federal Drive with Terry Gerton](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-federal-drive-with-terry-gerton-504783)
Published: 2026-05-26T11:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://mgln.ai/e/345/rss.art19.com/episodes/764f1b15-af0d-4797-bd4d-91684b746c60.mp3?rss_browser=BAhJIg90cmFuc2NyaWJyBjoGRVQ%3D--952c5701c84ad333c69d5faa668f8177091704f0
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Duration seconds: 764

## Resource

The inspector general system has weathered political pressure before, but this moment is testing how durable it really is. Even so, the day-to-day work of audits, investigations, and accountability continues. Former FDIC Inspector General Jay Lerner is here with perspective from inside that system. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

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