April 21, 2026 - Interior Department watchdogs say a former mine safety employee appeared to show favoritism to coal companies tied to Republican Sen. Jim Justice of West Virginia and his family by scrapping mining violations and renewing noncompliant permits.

But the former staffer, Michael Castle, denied the allegations in a phone interview and told POLITICO’s E&E News that he’s considering legal action.

“It’s a hit piece,” said Castle. “I did everything I possibly knew how to do by the book.”

The report by the Interior Department's Office of Inspector General, which was released Friday, summarized findings from a yearslong investigation into Castle’s work as a field office director for the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement between 2018 and 2021.

OSMRE inspects and audits coal companies across the U.S. for safety violations. Castle began working for OSMRE in 2018 and led the agency’s Lexington, Kentucky, field office until taking the deferred resignation program and retiring on Dec. 31, 2025.