Ben Carson cleared of misconduct in ordering $31,000 dining room set for office suite

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Washington Post



The Inspector General for the Department of Housing and Urban Development found no evidence of misconduct against Secretary Ben Carson in a $31,000 furniture order to replace a dining room set in his secretarial suite, according to a copy of the investigation obtained by The Washington Post.

The investigation was launched more than a year ago following accusations that Carson had violated federal appropriations law in 2017 by ordering furniture worth more than $5,000 without notifying congressional appropriators.

“We found no evidence indicating that either Secretary or Mrs. Carson exerted improper influence on any departmental employee in connection with the procurement,” the 14-page report said.

HUD officials had obligated $31,561 in agency funds to buy new dining room furniture for Carson’s office suite in December 2017 and failed to notify congressional appropriations committees, as required by law, the inspector general said. But Carson ultimately canceled the order in March 2018 following media reports about the large purchase order.

Read more: https://beta.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/09/12/ben-carson-cleared-misconduct-ordering-dining-room-set-office-suite-hud-inspector-general-finds/

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Full headline: Ben Carson cleared of misconduct in ordering $31,000 dining room set for office suite, HUD Inspector General finds

[LiberalFighter]

1. More bad apples when even the Inspector General is in on it.

[ffr]

2. I suppose the KGOP gave him a bonus for wasting taxpayer money. Oligarchs!

This is America's stratified future unless voters get ride of republicans. They're cheats!

[Cryptoad]

3. Ahhh,,, Age of MAGA

[turbinetree]

4. This is Bullshit......................I can't wait to hear about Pences traveling

in Ireland and the Air Force stopping over to buy gas for a C-17..................no problem.................

[bucolic_frolic]

5. Wonder if any lawyers could try a Class Action?

on behalf of taxpayers? We've been fleeced!

[virgogal]

7. How much money should be spent to recoup only $31,000.00 ?

[bucolic_frolic]

8. Soak the defendant for court costs

[Mr.Bill]

6. It always goes well when they investigate themselves.

Grand Juries should do these types of investigations.

[Bradical79]

9. Lovely

Ordering more than $5,000 worth of furniture without notifying Congressional appropriators is misconduct.

Is $31,000 > $5,000? Yes
Did Ben Carson notify Congressional appropriators? No

And apparently it takes one year to investigate and "clear" him.

Edit: Also, I feel like the word "evidence" loses all meaning in these reports.

[lunatica]

10. Up is down

We’re living in Alice’s Looking glass, and Trump is the Queen of Hearts.

[NCjack]

11. Ben's lunches must repulse him, since they they are served on Obama

Administration hand-me-downs.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

12. Surprise surprise

[Vinca]

13. Well someone ordered up the furniture. It didn't magically appear with a giant bill.

[Marcuse]

14. It was a miracle!

[neohippie]

15. Remember Helen Foster the Whistleblower

I guess the inspector general, forgot about Helen Foster a whistleblower at HUD who was punished after she denied the original request to purchase above the $5000 limit rule


https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/feb/27/hud-ben-carson-office-redecoration-trump-appointee

A senior career official in the US Department of Housing and Urban Development has alleged that she was demoted and replaced with a Donald Trump appointee after refusing to break the law by funding an expensive redecoration of Ben Carson’s office.


US housing department to spend $165,000 on own furniture as it faces $6.8bn budget cut


Helen Foster said she was told “$5,000 will not even buy a decent chair” after informing her bosses this was the legal price limit for improvements to the HUD secretary’s suite at the department’s Washington headquarters.

Foster, 47, claimed that she also faced retaliation for exposing a $10m budget shortfall, and for protesting when she was barred from handling a pair of sensitive freedom of information act (FOIA) requests relating to Trump apparently because she was perceived to be a Democrat.

A copy of a complaint letter filed by Foster to a watchdog for federal employees was obtained by the Guardian. It alleges that HUD violated laws protecting whistleblowers from reprisals. Foster is seeking a public apology, compensatory damages and reinstatement as HUD’s chief administrative officer.

After blowing the whistle she was demoted twice, smeared and later resigned


I wonder what ever happened with the Office of Special Counsel investigation about all of this?




https://www.housingwire.com/articles/42701-hud-employee-accuses-carson-of-running-witch-hunt-and-smear-campaign-against-whistleblower

Smallwood also claims that he and others at HUD have suffered harassment relating to Foster’s allegations. Asked about that allegation, Williams said: “The Secretary does not tolerate harassment.”

Smallwood also said that he “participated in the silencing of employees trying to protect them from the malicious activities of senior leadership at HUD” in the last several months.

Smallwood also claims that “undue influence” was placed on both he and Foster to process a Freedom of Information Act request that was “of a political nature” in a different manner than how FOIA requests are usually handled.

To that, Williams said: “FOIA requests are typically processed in the order they are received. HUD receives FOIAs of a political nature almost every day, and they are handled in our normal process.”

Smallwood also claims that Foster was demoted twice in retaliation for asking “tough questions,” and subsequently prevented from working in government.

“It was her job to be conscience of HUD and ask the tough questions and when she did that, she was not just demoted two levels (she was essentially moved from being over me to under me), she was blocked from other job opportunities at every turn because of the smear campaign that was conducted to prevent her from working in government,” Smallwood writes of Foster.