FBI investigates State Dept. IG.
FBI investigates State Dept. IG.
State Department Inspector General Howard Krongard, who reportedly threatened whistleblowers’ “jobs and careers” to protect the State Department and White House from political embarrassment, is being investigated by the FBI. National Journal (sub req’d) reports:
FBI agents recently interviewed a former senior official at the State Department’s Office of the Inspector General as part of a preliminary inquiry by a federal oversight group into charges that the department’s IG, Howard Krongard, blocked investigations of suspected fraud and waste by contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Ralph McNamara, who was a deputy assistant inspector general at State, was forced out of his job over the summer after raising concerns that Krongard had thwarted investigations into the safety of the new U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, which is still under construction. [...]
The FBI’s interview with McNamara signals new potential headaches for Krongard, who has been the subject of complaints by six other current and former staffers in the IG’s office of impeding investigations into contract fraud and waste in Iraq and Afghanistan.
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“FBI agents recently interviewed a former senior official at the State Department’s Office of the Inspector General as part of a preliminary inquiry by a federal oversight group into charges that the department’s IG, Howard Krongard, blocked investigations of suspected fraud and waste by contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan.”
Wasn’t 60-grit O’Bierne’s hubby in charge of this?
October 19th, 2007 at 5:29 pmHow about a special prosecutor and an indictment or two – and THEN I’llget excited.
October 19th, 2007 at 5:29 pmKrongard should get a promotion to
State Department Obfuscater General
October 19th, 2007 at 5:36 pmthis is the first domino to fall in Bush’s house of lies and injustice…..
this will bring to light more corruption than almost anything else Bush has proliferated.
October 19th, 2007 at 5:37 pmPlease explain to me exactly what the Bush administration has done right during their 6+ year term? Their whole approach to governing reminds me of a Laurel and Hardy comedy routine (no disrespect to Laurel & Hardy).
October 19th, 2007 at 5:41 pmMaybe he and the department will be embarrassed by this — and more. Or not.
October 19th, 2007 at 5:42 pmWasn’t 60-grit O’Bierne’s hubby in charge of this?
Comment by barfly — October 19, 2007 @ 5:29 pm
Nope, he was responsible for hiring staffers for the Coalition Provisional Authority. Pretty much, as long as they were young, breathing and republican, they had the job.
October 19th, 2007 at 5:45 pmPlease explain to me exactly what the Bush administration has done right during their 6+ year term? Their whole approach to governing reminds me of a Laurel and Hardy comedy routine (no disrespect to Laurel & Hardy).
Comment by StratRat — October 19, 2007 @ 5:41 pm
What do people expect when they put in charge of government, people who believe government “is not the answer”?
Except, of course that they believe government is the answer for a way to line their pockets and the pockets of their friends…
October 19th, 2007 at 5:45 pmWhat do people expect when they put in charge of government, people who believe government “is not the answer�
Comment by ralph the wonder llama
I almost feel as though they are trying to drown me in a bathtub.
October 19th, 2007 at 5:49 pm“Nope, he was responsible for hiring staffers for the Coalition Provisional Authority.Pretty much, as long as they were young, breathing and republican, they had the job.”
Comment by impeachcheneythenbush
But wasn’t it the staffers’ job to oversee contracting?
I thought I read that somewhere…
October 19th, 2007 at 5:52 pmHow about a special prosecutor and an indictment or two – and THEN I’llget excited.
Comment by Leftside Annie
Sorry Annie, it ain’t gonna happen. One of the Washington conservative groups held a 3 hour meeting with the AG nominee and apparently got a promise from him not to appoint a Special Prosecutor.
One thing that always stops the righties in their track is to ask them why Bush won’t allow a Special Prosecutor when Clinton approved one to investigate him. Ken Starr spent 70 million dollars investigating the Clinton’s and all he could come up with was lying about a BJ. That’s one of the reasons why the Democrats are not impeaching Bush. Both Nixon and Clinton’s impeachments were based on evidence found by a Special Prosecutor. Without one, the Congress would have to do the investigation and that could take a long time and a lot of money and may run out the clock on Bush.
October 19th, 2007 at 5:57 pmWhat do people expect when they put in charge of government, people who believe government “is not the answer�
You get shitty government!
The real question is, why do people keep putting them in charge?
October 19th, 2007 at 5:58 pmI hear ya, Bilbo. That was mostly sarcasm. ;o)
And, IMO, running out the clock on Bush is a good idea – maybe it’d keep that retarded ape out of trouble.
October 19th, 2007 at 6:03 pmBut wasn’t it the staffers’ job to oversee contracting?
I thought I read that somewhere…
Comment by barfly — October 19, 2007 @ 5:52 pm
Primarily as “Senior advisors” to the CPA and I don’t think they weren’t involved directly with contracting. One of the best sources for background on O’Bierne’s role in this is in the book “Imperial Life in the Emerald City – Inside Iraq’s Green Zone.”
October 19th, 2007 at 6:10 pmWhoops – meant were not directly involved in contracting.
October 19th, 2007 at 6:10 pmDéjà vu. Isn’t this where the press asks pointed questions about State Department Inspector General Howard Krongard and White House Spokeswoman Dana Perino refuses to answer because of the “ongoing investigation�
October 19th, 2007 at 6:26 pmLet’s see, I’ll take the corruption salad, for my entree I’ll have whistleblower fricasee, and for desert I’ll have the crony pie.
October 19th, 2007 at 10:22 pmRU: This meal sounds decadently disgusting but I love your creativity – Two thumbs up!
October 19th, 2007 at 10:25 pmWasn’t 60-grit O’Bierne’s hubby in charge of this?
Comment by barfly — October 19, 2007 @ 5:29 pm
Nope, he was responsible for hiring staffers for the Coalition Provisional Authority. Pretty much, as long as they were young, breathing and republican, they had the job.
Comment by impeachcheneythenbush — October 19, 2007 @ 5:45 pm
If you had a degree (cough) from Regency you were a shoo-in.
October 19th, 2007 at 11:19 pmExcuse me, but I’ve lost count.
How many corruption investigation have we had so far under this administration? How many indictments?
Corruption, nepotism, cronyism, and good ole’ incompetence are part of the legacy this administration will leave behind.
October 20th, 2007 at 1:40 amSince time immemorial, the distribution of government largesse had followed a staid, paper-laden procedure in which the federal government would post the details of a contract in periodicals like Commerce Business Daily or, more Ârecently, on the FedBizOpps Web site. Competitive bids were solicited and contracts were awarded in accordance with the labyrinthine print of the U.S. Code, a straightforward system that worked well enough before the Bush years that, as one lawyer puts it, you could “count the number of cases of criminal fraud on the fingers of one hand.”
What no one knew at the beginning of the war was that the Bush administration had essentially decided to treat the entire Iraqi theater as an exception to the rules.
from “The Great Iraq Swindle” in Rolling Stone Magazine.
Privitization….Deregulation….No Oversight….a republican recipe for waste, fraud , and abuse.
October 20th, 2007 at 6:26 am