— Domani Spero
We recently posted about that $6 Billion Alert. What Does The Spox Say? Goring-ding-ding-ding … “Grossly Inaccurate” But …. On April 3, WaPo went with State Department inspector general issues alert over $6 billion in contracting money. On April 4, TheBlaze.com The State Department Has Lost Track of More Than $6Billion. On April 4, Washington Free Beacon has State Department Misplaced $6B Under Hillary Clinton. On April 6, Fox News (blog) $6 Billion Went Missing From Hillary Clinton’s State Department …. Also on April 6, the Examiner.com – reported State Department $6 billion missing: ‘Creates conditions conducive to fraud’. On April 8, ABC News (blog) Blackwater Named in State Department Probe, Spent $$ on Pricey … On April 9, AllGov has State Dept. Can’t Locate Files for $6 Billion Worth of Contracts. Russia’s RIA Navosti found itself an expert and ran with “$6 Bln Vanished from US State Department Due to Corruption – Expert.“
Finally ….
The April 3 news article “State Department’s IG issues rare alert” reported on the management alert issued recently by my office. In the alert, we identified State Department contracts with a total value of more than $6 billion in which contract files were incomplete or could not be located. The Post stated, “The State Department’s inspector general has warned the department that $6 billion in contracting money over the past six years cannot be properly accounted for . . . . ”
Some have concluded based on this that $6 billion is missing. The alert, however, did not draw that conclusion. Instead, it found that the failure to adequately maintain contract files — documents necessary to ensure the full accounting of U.S. tax dollars — “creates significant financial risk and demonstrates a lack of internal control over the Department’s contract actions.”
Steve Linick, Washington
The writer is inspector general for the U.S. Department of State and Broadcasting Board of Governors.
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