POGO: The definition of cronyism

 

August 8, 2020

This week ushered in some troubling new revelations about the Trump administration’s treatment of inspectors general. We reported yesterday that the May firing of State Department Inspector General Steve Linick was likely motivated in part by a review of racist and sexist comments made by Robert Wood “Woody” Johnson IV, the U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom. Johnson, a longtime friend of President Donald Trump, was quite concerned about the investigation, a source told our investigative team.   The report has been sitting on (now former) acting Inspector General Stephen Akard’s desk awaiting approval for weeks, which raises questions about Akard’s abrupt announcement this week that he would resign effective yesterday.   It’s the definition of cronyism if Trump pushed out an inspector general to protect a political ally. Inspectors general are supposed to operate as independent watchdogs free from fear that they will be ousted for conducting investigations that may not sit well with the president.   Given this environment, we’re also concerned about Trump’s nomination of Jason Abend for the open Pentagon inspector general position. We’re opposing this nomination out of concern that Abend has not yet had the opportunity to to prove his independence and management ability. INVESTIGATION Watchdog Firing Came Amid Probe of Trump’s Friend, the U.S. Ambassador in London President Donald Trump’s abrupt firing of the State Department’s top watchdog in May was likely motivated in part by a review into alleged misconduct by the U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom, Robert Wood “Woody” Johnson IV, a longtime friend of the president, sources told POGO. Read More INVESTIGATION Whistleblowers Said This Company Is a Fake Small Business. It Got a PPP Loan. This spring, a company that has raked in $1.25 billion in federal contracts so far this year secured a multimillion-dollar taxpayer-backed loan intended to help small businesses cope with the COVID-19 pandemic’s economic fallout. Read More OP-ED How Bells, Whistles & Greed Blew Up The Defense Budget Free-flowing money give the Pentagon license to pursue excessively complex weapons programs with the mistaken belief that wars can be won simply by having more technology than our adversaries. Read More QUOTE OF THE WEEK “There are a huge number of checks in place to make sure attempts of fraud will not succeed. … I worry much more about an electronic voting machine that doesn’t have a paper trail than I do about a mail-in ballot.” Jake Laperruque, Senior Counsel with The Constitution Project at POGO, on Fox News ONE LINERS “It’s important that taxpayer funding reserved for genuine small businesses isn’t siphoned off by companies that are not eligible.” Nick Schwellenbach, Senior Investigator, in the Washington Post   “Right now I think it is completely unreasonable to expect any whistleblower to go to any inspector general office within the federal government.” Liz Hempowicz, Director of Public Policy, in Mother Jones   “When you’re in a crisis, this is a time when you go with only the most reliable companies and the companies you know are going to deliver.” Sean Moulton, Senior Policy Analyst, in the Dallas Morning News   “Congress has a vested interest to make sure that $500 billion, which is a huge amount of money for Congress to appropriate, is being spent in the way Congress intended and, frankly, is having the desired outcome.” Tim Stretton, Policy Analyst, in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette   “Is this company truly disadvantaged, as it’s commonly understood in the federal government? ... If they're not, they may be screwing over a truly disadvantaged business.” Nick Schwellenbach, Senior Investigator, in the Daily Beast   “The president is really starving many important agencies, offices and boards of the leadership they need to function efficiently and function well.” Liz Hempowicz, Director of Public Policy, in Bloomberg News

pogo.org The Project On Government Oversight (POGO) is a nonpartisan independent watchdog that investigates and exposes waste, corruption, abuse of power, and when the government fails to serve the public or silences those who report wrongdoing. We champion reforms to achieve a more effective, ethical, and accountable federal government that safeguards constitutional principles.

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