Is the Pentagon’s “Independent” Watchdog Really That Independent?

Mandy Smithberger

Pentagon, National Security, Investigations, Fraud, Waste, Abuse, Congress, Special Operations, United States

“If you continue to undermine my authority as a commander, I’m going to bury each one of them.” 

Last month the Project On Government Oversight sent a letter to Acting Department of Defense Inspector General (DoD IG) Glenn Fine raising concerns that his office’s administrative investigations were poorly documented and lacked independence. Now, in a recent Floor speech, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley (R-IA) has raised similar concerns in the context of the DoD IG’s investigation into Navy Rear Admiral Brian Losey’s illegal retaliation against suspected whistleblowers.

First some background. As originally reported by Craig Whitlock at TheWashington Post, the DoD IG substantiated allegations that Losey had retaliated against individuals he suspected to have reported that he improperly used taxpayer funds for personal travel. He was cleared of the travel-spending allegations, but drew up an “enemies list” of those he believed could have reported him. “If you continue to undermine my authority as a commander, I’m going to bury each one of them,” one witness  said Losey told his staff. “I’m going to come after them, and I’m going to [make] it very unpleasant.”