[ad_1]
The Pentagon has dissolved the Pure Acquisition Bureau, a pentagonal think tank-like arm that Republicans claimed were involved in the Trump Russia investigation.
Sean Parnell, the Pentagon’s chief spokesman, said civilian employees in the office would be “reassigned to mission-critical roles” as DOD has “established plans to rebuild the office in collaboration with the department’s strategic priorities.”
The office aims to provide long-term strategic analysis within the DOD, but is targeted by Republicans who claim to be engaged in “projects not related to their mission.”
“Praise the Lord. This wise move will save American taxpayers over $20 million a year,” R-Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley said in a statement.
The Pentagon calls Mark Millie “body” when it begins reviewing physical fitness and grooming standards
Defense Secretary Pete Hegses closed his net acquisition office on Thursday. (Reuters/Evelyn Hockstein)
He called the office “vain and ineffective.”
The office in recent years has focused on strategies for potential war with China. He supported a strategy known as the “Air Sea Battle.” There, a blind campaign against the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of stealth bombers and submarines will steal China’s long-range surveillance before naval assault.
However, Grassley has been scrutinizing ONA’s contract practices for many years.
ONA has failed to create a classified net rating for many years, whistleblower analyst Adam Lovinger once complained to Director James Baker in an email.
“We have heard multiple times about quality issues from contractors labeled “driverive” and “university level,” and are heavily based on secondary sources,” he wrote in an email in September 2016. “One of our contractor’s research has been literally reduced and pasted from the World Bank report.”
Lovinger had complained about the suspicious government contract awarded to Stefan Halper, an FBI informant who spyed on the Trump campaign in 2016.
The DOD Inspector’s report found that Halper was unable to properly document the research he later did as a contractor in four $1 million studies. The four contracts from 2012 to 2016 were intended to cover relations between the US, Russia, China and India.
Secretary Hegses says DOD doesn’t do “climate change crap”
The ONA contractors have contacted George Papadopoulos, a former Trump campaign aide. (Reuters/Jim Urquhart)
The report found that Halper did not provide evidence of the meetings he had or the places he visited as part of his research.
“ONA staff were unable to provide evidence that Professor Halper had visited these locations, established advisory groups, or met certain people listed in the working statement.”
Halper had proposed a trip to London and Tokyo for research into what Chinese relations would look like in 2030.
ONA contractor Stefan Halper also contacted Carter Page. (Reuters/Sergey Kalpkin)
“The contract was fixed price based on acceptance of the deliverables and there was no need to submit a receipt for the trip to Professor Halper. ONA officials were unable to provide documentation that Professor Halper traveled for the contract.”
According to the contract, Halper cited the Russian intelligence agency as a consultant for the ONA project. This is the same Intelligence Director of the Intelligence Agency, which was listed as the source of Trump’s documents used to spy on Carter Pages. He contacted Page and former Trump campaign aide George Papadopoulos, who “had questioned whether Halper would use US taxpayer dollars to link with Trump campaign officials,” Grassley said.
Click here to get the Fox News app
Halper was also a secret human source for the FBI’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, which documented conversations with campaign officials.
The senator claims that Ona has plaster on his inquiry about Halper’s relationship with Trump Russia probe.
Sen. Jack Reid, the top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, called the office’s closing “myopia,” adding that it “damaged our ability to prepare for future conflicts.”
[ad_2]Source link
