Former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao used her office to boost the reputation of her family’s shipping business, the agency’s internal watchdog said in a report released Wednesday.
The Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General’s report states that Chao took part in four kinds of ethics violations including planning to bring relatives on an official trip to China, requiring Department of Transportation public affairs staff to promote her father’s book and using agency staff and resources to complete personal tasks.
“The DOT Inspector General’s report, in addition to documents we obtained, demonstrate that Secretary Chao used her official position and taxpayer resources for the benefit of herself and her family,” Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., chair of the House committee on oversight and reform, said in a statement. “Secretary Chao’s flagrant abuse of her office provides further evidence that additional ethics and transparency reforms are needed.”
Chao, who is married to Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, served in former President Donald Trump’s cabinet until she resigned following the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol. She also served as labor secretary under President Geroge W. Bush.
The report also investigated Chao’s influence over discretionary grants to her home state of Kentucky and found no irregularities but did criticize a lack of transparency in the Department of Transportation’s grantmaking process.
Investigators from the inspector general’s office in December referred their findings to the Justice Department’s U.S. Attorney’s Office and its Public Integrity Section, but both declined to open criminal investigations.
The report states that Chao “made extensive plans” to include family members in events during a planned trip to China in November 2017 that would have included stops at schools and other locations that received support from her family’s business.
Ultimately the trip was canceled and Chao later agreed to refrain from scheduling media events involving her family without consulting the ethics office.
Chao also directed public affairs staff to market her father’s biography, keep a running list of awards he received and edit his Wikipedia page.
“The Secretary directed to OST staffers to send a copy of [the biography] to a well-known CEO of a major U.S. corporation (which is not regulated by DOT) along with a letter requesting that he write a foreword for the book and sample a foreword,” the report states.
Additionally, Chao tasked political appointees on her staff to contact the Department of Homeland Security regarding the status of a work permit application for a student at a U.S. university, who was a recipient of her family’s philanthropic foundation.
The report also found she used staff to check on repairs of an item at a store for her father and to send Christmas ornaments to her family.
Maloney and Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., chairman of the House committee on transportation and infrastructure, requested the investigation in 2019 amid reports of multiple ethics violations by Chao.
“While I commend the Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General for conducting this review, I am disappointed that it was not completed and released while Secretary Chao was still in office,” DeFazio said.
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Another reason to clean house and replace people too long in office, too long of tooth, and too many allegiances with foreign entities who purchased them. The longer the tenure in office, the longer the foreign entanglements and foreign tentacles that restain them from doing the right thing every time.
nepotism, whether done by Mitch himself, is what this is and should be prohibited- by law.
That’s what should happen, but you can bet NOTHING will..
Not shocked about this at all. As soon as most of these so-called leaders are elected, appointed . . . what ever. Their offices doors are opened to help relatives, their children and only get emboldened more and more to profit off of hard working American people. We are nothing to them but ATM machines and everyone of them need to be exposed and ousted from their offices. They are not leaders at all, but criminals who should be taken to a real court of law and then remanded to prison for the rest of their lives and money returned to the American people.
Mitch McConnell loved lining his pockets as well. Hunter Biden used Daddy’s office, Bill Clinton and a host of others to numerous to mention while we the people are left at the mercy of our enemies, foreign and domestic. The Capitol looks like a fortress and we will soon be a Police State.
It is repulsive, and most especially now when we the people have been dictated to right and left, our children prevented from schools, the death of our elderly by Cuomo, prevention of visiting the ill in the hospitals. Made to wear masks and not only one, but fraudulent Fauci wants two and thinks three would be even better. This is what the we the people are putting up with while they steal our treasure in more ways than one. We remember well being dictated to that we could not visit a park, beach, but they had no Rules for themselves. No wonder they want us in lockdown. The rules were to distract us from what is REALLY going on. We know now who needs to be in lockdown, and it is not “We The People.”
What irks me most about this, is IMO THAT Whole ‘ethics committee ” is useless. AS MOST EVERYONE they’ve smacked for VIOLATING ethics laws, are STILL IN OFFICE.. So what was the point in investigating them?
Another deep state hack, along with her husband Mitch. That is why Mitch did not want Trump to put import taxes on Chinese goods. One can see the loyalty of the politicians in Washington. Their loyalty is to China, as are the Big Tech communists. The deep state!!!!
Is anyone surprised of a Chinese spy in the cabinet, married to the senate majority leader? She was just protecting her shipping company
Surprise! Another dirty Republican exposed (while the Democrats freely line their pockets at our expense).
We the U.S. must start charging and holding Democrat politicians accountable for their crimes against our U.S. Laws.
The damnable Democrat Congress had no problem with holding President Trump accountable for the Democat Party’s fabricated charges that were total fairytales and even impeached him in a kangaroo court circus court.
Nancy Pelosi admitted an unfortunate truth about her impeachment “farce”
– It hinges on witness’s “allegations” not “proof.
Also look at how the Democrat Party members tried to destroy Judge Brett Kavanaugh over a 43 year old fancy of a young girl.
The Democrat party refabricated her story and tried to destroy Judge Kavanaugh and his family with their lies
Times like this, i really wish ADND like magic existed, so we the people, could REALLY HOLD THESE criminals, to account..
Impeachments are about POLITICS, NOT LAW. They pretend to follow the law but it is meaningless. We all watched as Democrats held 2 impeachments that were nothing but fishing trips. Democrats impeached twice and NEVER found a law that was broken.
Laws, they need no stinking laws.
“The DOT Inspector General’s report, in addition to documents we obtained, demonstrate that Secretary Chao used her official position and taxpayer resources for the benefit of herself and her family,” The worst part is that practically all of them do this. It has gotten so bad that it reminds me of when I was stationed in South Korea in the late 1960s / early 1970s. In South Korea bribery, graft, etc were endemic. What was frowned upon was getting caught. Otherwise is was SOP.
This is one “RINO B–CH” who should be Defamed and Prosecuted. Of course she “FANG-FANGED” McConnell. Look how he eventually came out of the “CLOSET” of the TREACHEROUS RINOS attacking Trump all out when he thought it was safe to do. But…...WRONG!!
Now lets look at Feinstein, Pelosi, Schumer and Maxine Waters!
Another China traitor in the White house its full of traitors ! I say send the Army in to clean up the mess the Democrats have made. Arrest them all !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I bet you Mr. Turtle Man knew and was involved. I bet neither one gets charged.