Senate panel subpoenas federal prisons director to testify

WASHINGTON (AP) — The outgoing director of the Bureau of Prisons has been subpoenaed to testify before a Senate committee examining abuse and corruption in the beleaguered federal agency.

Michael Carvajal was served a subpoena to appear at a hearing later this month. The subpoena was announced Monday by Sen. Jon Ossoff, the chairman of the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.

The committee’s subpoena follows an investigation by The Associated Press exposing systemic issues in the agency, including widespread criminal activity by staff and rampant sexual assault at a women’s prison in California.

The Justice Department announced last week it was replacing Carvajal with Colette Peters, the director of Oregon’s prison system. That announcement came about seven months after Carvajal submitted his resignation amid mounting pressure from Congress after the AP’s investigation.

Ossoff and Sen. Ron Johnson, the committee’s top Republican, said the subpoena was issued after the Justice Department refused to make Carvajal available to testify voluntarily.