Pentagon Investigator Resigns Amid Ethics Inquiry

[sabra]

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-schmitz3sep03,0,3724495.story?coll=la-tot-promo&track=morenews

Pentagon Investigator Resigns Amid Ethics Inquiry

WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon's top investigator has resigned from office amid accusations that he stonewalled inquiries into senior Bush administration officials suspected of wrongdoing.

Inspector General Joseph E. Schmitz told staffers this week that he intends to resign as of Sept. 9 to take a job with the parent company of Blackwater USA, a defense contractor.

The resignation comes after Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, sent Schmitz several letters this summer informing him that he was the target of a congressional inquiry into whether he had blocked two criminal probes last year.

Grassley also accused Schmitz of fabricating an official Pentagon news release, planning an expensive junket to Germany and hiding information from Congress. Schmitz is the senior Pentagon official charged with investigating waste, fraud and abuse.

[wli]

1. Blackwater... figures. Canned Bunnatine, too. n/t

[NRaleighLiberal]

2. Drip..drip Crash..bang....house of cards falling ??? at last?? dare...

we hope????

IMPEACHMENT NOW

[Independent_Liberal]

3. Yes... Drip, drip, drip.

Like a leaky faucet.

:)

[mom cat]

4. Wish it would drip faster.

[grytpype]

5. From the article... the two crim investigations...

"The first of the criminal investigations in which Schmitz allegedly intervened involved John A. "Jack" Shaw, the former deputy undersecretary of Defense for international technology security."

<i>The story of "Jack" Shaw is pretty damned interesting, it gets lost in the unholy roar of Iraq news but in a more innocent day it would make a huge scandal.</i>

The second investigation in which Schmitz allegedly interfered involves Mary Walker, the general counsel for the U.S. Air Force.

Grassley said in the July 7 letter that the information he has is "sketchy" but that the accusation appears to involve Walker "lying under oath," possibly during investigations of either the U.S. Air Force Academy or Boeing Co.

<i>That one I don't know anything about, can someone educate me?</i>

[EC]

6. Possibley the contracts with Boeing that

were no bid and there was something with them being rentals and add up to way more than purchase price, and E-mails with promises of the contract after extensive (and expensive) lobbying.

[jarab]

7. No longer Latest Breaking News

See this thread from 8-31:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=1741044