Grassley seeks further details on Pentagon task force

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA), who repeatedly has raised concerns about spending by the defunct Task Force for Business and Stability Operations, now is seeking additional information from Defense Secretary Ash Carter.

In a Feb. 5 letter, Grassley asks “a number of questions as a follow up to the testimony provided by Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, Brian McKeon” during a Jan. 20 Senate Armed Services readiness and management support subcommittee hearing on TFBSO.

The senator, who has asked the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction to perform a “top-to-bottom audit” of TFBSO, challenges McKeon's contention that an April 2015 report on task force activities constitutes a “financial audit,” citing its failure to comply with “generally accepted auditing standards.”

Noting that approximately $820 million was appropriated for TFBSO, with $759 million obligated and $638 million expended, Grassley requests documentation of the disposition of “$182 million in unexpended appropriations.”

The senator continues to press the issue of “possible whistleblower retaliation against” Army Col. John Hope, who served as TFBSO's director of operations in Afghanistan and “has been working with both SIGAR and my staff to help us better understand how TFBSO functioned.” Noting discrepancies between McKeon's testimony and historical records, Grassley seeks clarification of McKeon's knowledge of task force operations and his role in evaluating Hope's performance, questioning the accuracy of the official's account of the timeline of events.