The Independent Investigations Officer has withdrawn the charges against Ken Hall for obstruction as part of a settlement with the International Union. 

As General Secretary-Treasurer, Hall is responsible in the Teamster Constitution for maintaining the IBT’s records.

Hall faced obstruction charges after the International Union withheld more than 32,000 documents and emails from corruption investigators.

But in a letter to the IBT General Counsel, the Independent Investigations Officer (IIO), Joseph diGenova, says he was convinced that “Hall did not play a personal role” in withholding the documents. 

As a condition for withdrawing the charges, diGenova demanded that the IBT designate either Ken Hall or James Hoffa as responsible for fulfilling legal requests in the future, so that one of them can be charged if there is obstruction. 

That deals with the issue going forward, but does nothing to address the biggest obstruction scandal in Teamster history.

The fact remains that the Hoffa-Hall administration spent millions of dollars in members’ dues money to stonewall corruption investigators until after the election.

If Hall did not play a personal role in the obstruction, then who did? Are members supposed to believe that General President Hoffa was out of the loop too—and that the decision to obstruct corruption investigators for over six months was made by rogue lawyers with no input from Hoffa or Hall? Didn’t Hoffa and Hall sign the checks to pay the high-dollar attorneys they hired to pursue the obstruction?

Hall gets off, but some top officials are not so lucky.

International VP Rome Aloise goes on trial before Independent Review Officer (IRO) Barbara Jones on March 14. Hoffa’s Executive Assistant Willie Smith will has an IBT corruption hearing set for March 21.