Sean O’Donnell, Former EPA Inspector General, Joins Judicial Watch Litigation Team

(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today that Sean O’Donnell has joined the litigation team at Judicial Watch.

O’Donnell was U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Inspector General from 2020 to 2025, where he was a lone voice in the EPA warning against “fast money” and careless spending. His reputation as a relentless fighter against fraud, waste, and abuse was earned, having taken the agency’s Office of Inspector General from one that realized only $3 million in annual monetary impact to one realizing over $2 billion in 2024.

From 2020 to 2022, O’Donnell was acting Inspector General at the U.S. Department of Defense where he successfully led over 1,800 oversight professionals, stationed across the globe, in fighting fraud and waste, promoting effectiveness, and ensuring ethical conduct throughout the Defense Department. During O’Donnell’s nearly three-year tenure, his office recovered approximately $3.5 billion in civil and criminal cases and issued 331 reports, identifying over $1.25 billion in potential benefit to the Defense Department. 

For 15 years, from 2005 to 2020, O’Donnell was at the U.S. Department of Justice, where he served as an award-winning trial attorney and prosecutor, focusing on white collar and fraud cases, as well as corruption and national security matters. His areas of focus at the Justice Department included investigating and litigating whistleblower allegations of fraud, waste, and abuse committed by government officials, contractors, and grantees. Through his work, the Justice Department recovered over $4 billion for the government and fraud victims.

Early in his career at the Justice Department, O’Donnell enforced and ensured compliance with laws protecting the right to vote and the integrity of elections, including the Voting Rights Act, the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), and the Help America Vote Act.

O’Donnell clerked on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas. He also spent time in private practice, working on intellectual property and antitrust litigation.

 O’Donnell has a bachelor’s degree in economics from Texas A&M University, a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of Washington, and a master’s degree in economics and a law degree from the University of Texas at Austin.

 “We’re happy to have Sean O’Donnell join the Judicial Watch team. His tremendous experience at the Justice Department and as Inspector General for both the EPA and the Defense Department is a perfect fit for Judicial Watch and should make corrupt government officials nervous,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton.

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