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Thursday 21 March 2019

Pentagon to probe if Shanahan used office to help Boeing

By LOLITA C. BALDOR statements promoting Boe- about the 737 Max issue.
Associated Press ing and disparaging com- Shanahan said he had not
WASHINGTON (AP) — The petitors, such as Lockheed spoken to anyone in the
Pentagon’s inspector gen- Martin. administration about it and
eral has formally opened Shanahan, who was travel- had not been briefed on it.
an investigation into a ing with President Donald Asked whether he favored
watchdog group’s allega- Trump to Ohio on Wednes- an investigation into the
tions that acting Defense day, spent more than 30 matter, Shanahan said it
Secretary Patrick Shana- years at Boeing, leading was for regulators to inves-
han has used his office to programs for commercial tigate.
promote his former em- planes and missile defense On Wednesday, Blumen-
ployer, Boeing Co. systems. He has been serv- thal said that scrutiny of
Citizens for Responsibility ing as acting Pentagon Shanahan’s Boeing ties
and Ethics in Washington chief since the beginning is necessary. “In fact, it’s
filed an ethics complaint of the year, after James overdue. Boeing is a be-
with the Pentagon’s in- Mattis stepped down. hemoth 800-pound gorilla
spector general a week Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan speaks at the The probe comes as Boe- — raising possible questions
ago, alleging that Shanah- Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, ing struggles to deal with of undue influence at DOD,
an has appeared to make Wednesday, March 20, 2019. a public firestorm over FAA and elsewhere,” said
Associated Press two deadly crashes of the Blumenthal.
Boeing 737 Max 8 jetliner Shanahan signed an ethics
within the last five months. agreement in June 2017,
And it focuses attention on when he was being nomi-
whether Trump will nomi- nated for the job of deputy
nate Shanahan as his for- defense secretary, a job he
mal pick for defense chief, held during Mattis’ tenure. It
rather than letting him lan- outlined the steps he would
guish as an acting leader take to avoid “any actual
of a major federal agency. or apparent conflict of in-
Dwrena Allen, spokeswom- terest,” and said he would
an for the inspector gener- not participate in any mat-
al, said Shanahan has been ter involving Boeing. The
informed of the investiga- CREW ethics complaint,
tion. And, in a statement, based to a large part on
Pentagon spokesman Tom published reports, including
Crosson said Shanahan one by Politico in January,
welcomes the review. said Shanahan has made
“Acting Secretary Sha- comments praising Boeing
nahan has at all times in meetings about gov-
remained committed to ernment contracts, raising
upholding his ethics agree- concerns about “whether
ment filed with the DoD,” Shanahan, intentionally or
said Crosson. “This agree- not, is putting his finger on
ment ensures any matters the scale when it comes to
pertaining to Boeing are Pentagon priorities.”
handled by appropriate of- One example raised by
ficials within the Pentagon the complaint is the Pen-
to eliminate any perceived tagon’s decision to request
or actual conflict of interest funding for Boeing 15EX
issue(s) with Boeing.” fighter jets in the 2020 pro-
During a Senate hearing posed budget. The Penta-
last week, Shanahan was gon is requesting about $1
asked by U.S. Sen. Rich- billion to buy eight of the
ard Blumenthal, D-Conn., aircraft.q