In a 73-page report released today, Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) has accused the Pentagon’s official watchdog of complete failure in their responsibility to audit defense contracts to prevent fraud. Grassley wrote in his report that “the OIG Audit junkyard dog has been de-fanged and rendered harmless.”
Grassley’s own staff launched an investigation after receiving anonymous tip-offs that the agency was ineffective and engaging in misconduct. The report indicates that Inspector General Gordon Heddell found the Pentagon’s accounting to be so “broken” that an a genuine audit was impossible.
Heddell has not denied the accusations; he admitted that Grassley’s report was “relevant” and “important,” but claimed that it was “only one piece of a much bigger transformation” that began a year ago after his Senate confirmation.