Federal agency investigating ethics complaint against former Rep. Anthony D'Esposito

WASHINGTON — An agency that oversees federal employee conduct has agreed to investigate claims that former Long Island U.S. Rep. Anthony D’Esposito has been inappropriately "blurring the line" between political activity and his official duties as a nonpartisan U.S. Department of Labor internal watchdog.

The U.S. Office of Special Counsel has "accepted the matter for review," according to a letter dated and sent Wednesday to the independent government watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, which filed the complaint against D’Esposito in April.

D’Esposito, who was appointed as an inspector general by President Donald Trump, has been serving in the job since January.

"CREW’s political hacks keep wasting time peddling bogus nonsense. They won’t intimidate me," said D’Esposito, in an emailed statement forwarded to Newsday by his office.

D’Esposito added, "I’ll keep exposing fraud and fighting for American workers."

The statement noted that the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, which made the referral to the Office of Special Counsel, is not itself taking any further action.

CREW in its complaint alleged "wide ranging" social media posts and reposts by D’Esposito — using the official X account @USLaborIG — praising the Trump administration's immigration enforcement, military action in Iran and economic policies that CREW said run afoul of his nonpolitical role as Labor Department inspector general.

"While serving as inspector general, D’Esposito has blurred the lines between official duties and political activities," CREW said in its complaint. "This behavior impairs his ability to be independent and reflects self-interest and bias incompatible with the role of an inspector general," the complaint alleged.

The special counsel's office did not immediately return requests for comment.

The inspector general roles across federal agencies were created to root out corruption, fraud, waste and mismanagement. Within the Labor Department, that includes criminal investigations to combat such things as labor racketeering and organized crime in the nation's labor unions, and efforts to protect child laborers.

D’Esposito, a retired NYPD detective, previously served as a Republican congressman but was defeated in 2024 for his Nassau County-based seat by Democrat Laura Gillen (D-Rockville Centre). Even after taking the new job, up until April he was noncommittal about whether he might leave that post to run for his former House seat, eventually deciding not to do so.

CREW received word Wednesday that the Office of Special Counsel had decided to review its complaint against D'Esposito in a letter from the "Integrity Committee" of a council of federal inspectors general.

That group took an initial look at potential breaches by D’Esposito and then made the referral to the special counsel's office. 

CREW president and CEO Donald Sherman said in an interview Wednesday the issue is whether D’Esposito has violated aspects of a federal law known as the Hatch Act that restricts partisan political activity by most government employees, including inspectors general: "And OSC has accepted that referral."