RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — The office investigating Richmond government corruption released old reports that backed up past misconduct claims made against city employees but were kept offline for years despite rules requiring them to be published.
The Richmond inspector general’s office, which is overseen by the City Council, published 17 investigative reports spanning from September 2024 to December 2020 after 8News reported that city code mandated them to be “ electronically published for public review .”
READ MORE: 17 Richmond government watchdog reports released after 8News report
Richmond City Council City Council President Kristen Nye told 8News in August that she didn’t have transparency concerns over the reports not making it online — a view that an open-records advocate and fellow city council member disagreed with .
Nye told 8News then that Inspector General James Osuna was given “discretion” to publish his reports after getting legal guidance about potential whistleblower concerns. Under Osuna’s discretion, just two reports were published in a nearly five-year span.