Investigators are eyeballing one of the Defense Department’s top civilian advisers for allegedly retaliating against staffers who complained after she ordered them to run personal errands for her on the taxpayers’ dime.
The department’s Inspector General is investigating Dana White, a Trump administration political appointee who works as the Pentagon’s chief spokeswoman, CNN reported.
White had staffers pick up her drycleaning, hit the pharmacy for snacks and pantyhose and work on her personal mortgage paperwork among other tasks, the network reported, citing a quartet of sources.
Her staffers also charged that she had them transferred against their will after they lodged complaints about the way she treated them.
Charles Summers, the principal deputy assistant to the secretary for public affairs, said: “This is an ongoing review about which we cannot comment.” White also would not comment.
White was named spokeswoman in April 2017 and reports directly to Defense Secretary James Mattis, who according to the network was unaware of her actions until the IG got involved.
Pentagon ethics standards say that “a DoD official may not direct or request subordinates to use official time to perform any activities other than official activities.”
In addition to shopping, sources told CNN that White also had staffers fetch her lunch, make her personal travel plans and drive her to work and from work on snowy days.
After a complaint, White later reimbursed a staffer for mileage for the trips to and from the Pentagon.
White is the latest current or former Team Trump player to go under the ethical microscope for their actions in office.
EPA chief Scott Pruitt was forced out for offenses ranging from his costly travel to his order for an expensive private phone booth and trying to get a Chick-Fil-A franchise for his wife.
Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin also got into hot water after he and his wife took a government plane to Fort Knox last August on the day of the solar eclipse.
HUD Secretary Ben Carson tried to buy high-end, expensive furniture for his office that exceeded government spending limits.
