Howard J. "Cookie" Krongard (December 12, 1940 – May 3, 2023) was an American attorney and government official who served as

Inspector General of the Department of State The Inspector General of the Department of State heads the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of State and is responsible for detecting and investigating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in the United States Department of St ...

during the

George W. Bush administration George W. Bush's tenure as the 43rd president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2001, and ended on January 20, 2009. Bush, a Republican from Texas, took office following his narrow electoral college vict ...

. After being accused of averting probes into contracting fraud in

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

and a possible conflict of interest regarding investigations into

Blackwater Worldwide Constellis, formerly Blackwater, is an American private military contractor founded on December 26, 1997, by former Navy SEAL officer Erik Prince. It was renamed Xe Services in 2009, and was again renamed to Academi in 2011, after it was acquire ...

, Krongard left his post on January 15, 2008, and was not eligible for retirement.

Early life

Krongard was raised in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...

in a Jewish family. He was the brother of former CIA Executive Director A. B. Krongard. He graduated in 1961 with a degree in history from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

, and was a First Team

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

n goaltender in

lacrosse Lacrosse is a contact team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game w ...

, which earned him a place in the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame. He graduated from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

in 1964, then did postgraduate work at the

Trinity Hall, Cambridge Trinity Hall (formally The College or Hall of the Holy Trinity in the University of Cambridge, colloquially "Tit Hall" ) is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1350, it is th ...

from 1964 to 1965.

Career

From 1989 to 1996, Krongard was a lawyer with

Deloitte & Touche Deloitte is a Multinational corporation, multinational professional services network based in London, United Kingdom. It is the largest professional services network in the world by revenue and number of employees, and is one of the Big Four a ...

and its predecessor firm, Deloitte Haskins & Sells. From 1996 to 2005, Krongard was a lawyer with

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Freshfields LLP (formerly Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, or FBD) is a British multinational law firm headquartered in London, England, and a member of the so-called " Magic Circle". The firm has 28 offices in 17 jurisdictions across Asia, Europ ...

Government

Krongard served as the

from May 2, 2005, to December 7, 2007. Stout, David
Democrat Opens Inquiry Into Whether State Dept. Official Impeded Investigations
''The New York Times'', September 18, 2007.

Controversies

State Department probes

In a 14-page letter on September 18, 2007,

House Oversight Committee The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is the main investigative United States congressional committee, committee of the United States House of Representatives. The committee's broad jurisdiction and legislative authority make it one o ...

chairman Henry Waxman charged Krongard with actively impeding probes into waste and corruption related to the

war in Iraq This is a list of wars involving the Republic of Iraq and its predecessor states. , style="background:#F88" , Coalition of Gulf War, Coalition victory * Kuwait, State of Kuwait resumes self-governance over all Kuwaiti sovereign territory * Esta ...

and other matters. In a three-page follow-up letter issued on September 28, 2007, Waxman informed Krongard that allegations of witness intimidation had been made against Krongard's staff. Aides to Krongard threatened two U.S. State Department investigators with retaliation, including termination of their jobs, if they cooperated with the investigations into Blackwater USA and Krongard, according to a report released by the U.S. House of Representatives. Warren P. Strobel, ''

Sacramento Bee ''The Sacramento Bee'' is a daily newspaper published in Sacramento, California, in the United States. Since its foundation in 1857, ''The Bee'' has become the largest newspaper in Sacramento, the fifth largest newspaper in California, and the 2 ...

''
"Blackwater fact-finders threatened?"
September 29, 2007. Krongard directly interfered with federal prosecutors when they asked his office for help with investigating possible Blackwater arms smuggling. In an e-mail, he wrote, to his staff,

is directed to stop IMMEDIATELY any work on these contracts until I receive a briefing from the (assistant U.S. attorney) regarding the details of this investigation. SA Militana, ASAIC Rubendall and any others involved are to be directed by you not to proceed in any manner until the briefing takes place,

That was sent to a subordinate on July 11, 2007, and was disclosed by Waxman's congressional investigation, who revealed the e-mails. Krongard denied this, however. Warren P. Strobel, Mcclatchy Newspapers

September 29, 2007. On November 14, 2007, Krongard testified to Congress, regarding his brother,

I can tell you, very frankly, I am not aware of any financial interest or position he has with respect to Blackwater. When these ugly rumors started recently, I specifically asked him. I do not believe it is true that he is a member of the advisory board that you stated. And that's something I think I need to say.Brother of State Dept. Official Linked to Blackwater
Matthew Jaffe,
ABC News ABC News most commonly refers to: * ABC News (Australia), a national news service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation * ABC News (United States), a news-gathering and broadcasting division of the American Broadcasting Company ABC News may a ...
, November 14, 2007

However, Krongard was confronted with a July 26 letter from Blackwater founder and CEO

Erik Prince Erik Dean Prince (born June 6, 1969) is an American businessman, investor, author, and former U.S. Navy SEAL officer, and the founder of the private military company Blackwater. He served as Blackwater's CEO until 2009 and as its chairman u ...

to A.B. Krongard asking him to join Blackwater's advisory board, followed by a September 5 letter welcoming Krongard to the board and a report from Rep.

Elijah Cummings Elijah Eugene Cummings (January 18, 1951October 17, 2019) was an American politician and civil rights advocate who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1996 until his death in 2019, when he was succeeded by his predecess ...

stating that A.B. Krongard had been expected to attend a Blackwater board meeting earlier that week. Krongard then called his brother during the ensuing break in the hearings and learned of this

conflict of interest A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple wikt:interest#Noun, interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, this relates t ...

for the first time, saying "I'm not my brother's keeper, and we don't discuss our business with each other". He then recused himself from the investigation.State Dept. official withdraws from Blackwater probe
by Matt Kelley, USA Today, November 14, 2007. Democrats on the committee argued that this had a negative impact on Krongard's credibility, which also cast doubt on his denials of the accusations of interfering with

Justice Department A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

investigations of Blackwater and other State Department contractors. Committee chairman Henry Waxman issued a memorandum summarizing the discrepancies between the two brothers' recollections of what they told each other.

Personal life and death

Howard Krongard lived in the Upper Montclair section of

Montclair, New Jersey Montclair is a Township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Situated on the cliffs of the Watchung Mountains, Montclair is a commercial and cultural hub of North Jersey and a diverse ...

, for over 30 years, and had a son and a daughter. Krongard died after a long battle with cancer on May 3, 2023, at the age of 82.

References

External links

Krongard's State Department biographyHoward J. Krongard's campaign contributions
{{DEFAULTSORT:Krongard, Howard 1940 births 2023 deaths Baltimore City College alumni George W. Bush administration controversies United States inspectors general by name United States Department of State officials Harvard Law School alumni People from Montclair, New Jersey Princeton University alumni