Tag: Government Accountability Office

A watchdog out of Trump’s grasp unleashes wave of coronavirus audits

The Government Accountability Office is moving quickly to conduct oversight — and it’s got more protection than other Trump targets.

Lawmakers handed President Donald Trump $2 trillion in coronavirus relief — and then left town without activating any of the powerful new oversight tools meant to hold his administration accountable.

But with little fanfare, Congress’ independent, in-house watchdog is preparing a blizzard of audits that will become the first wide-ranging check on Trump’s handling of the sprawling national rescue effort.

And even as Trump has gone to war against internal watchdogs in his administration, the Government Accountability Office remains largely out of the president’s grasp because of its home in the legislative branch. Continue reading.

White House snubbed watchdog agency seeking info on Ukraine aid

The Government Accountability Office later concluded the White House violated the law by freezing the military aid.

The White House declined to provide documents to a congressional watchdog investigating President Donald Trump’s decision to withhold military aid from Ukraine, according to documents released Thursday by Sen. Chris Van Hollen.

The White House responded to the Government Accountability Office’s inquiry with a one-page letter on Dec. 20, citing a legal memo from the Office of Management and Budget that defended the hold on military aid as necessary to ensure spending the funds wouldn’t “conflict with the President’s foreign policy.”

“The White House does not plan to respond separately to your letters,” wrote Brian Miller, a senior associate counsel to Trump, who indicated that the GAOinquiry was meant for acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and White House counsel Pat Cipollone. Cipollone is now Trump’s lead attorney in an impeachment trial that centers on his decision to freeze Ukraine’s military assistance. Continue reading.