Featured Investigations
Unreleased: Probe Finds CIA Honcho Disclosed Top Secret Info to Hollywood
June 4, 2013 | By Adam Zagorin and David Hilzenrath
The Defense Department Inspector General’s office has been sitting on a report that former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta disclosed "TOP SECRET" information and other sensitive details two years ago at an event attended by a "Hollywood executive" working on the movie Zero Dark Thirty.
The SEC's Revolving Door
July 18, 2013
A revolving door blurs the lines between one of the nation’s most important regulatory agencies and the interests it regulates. Former employees of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) routinely help corporations try to influence SEC rulemaking, counter the agency’s investigations of suspected wrongdoing, soften the blow of SEC enforcement actions, block shareholder proposals, and win exemptions from federal law.
Big Businesses Offer Revolving Door Rewards
March 21, 2013 | Michael Smallberg
Major corporations make it financially advantageous for executives to take government jobs, according to regulatory filings reviewed by POGO. Through their compensation policies, companies may be fueling the revolving door.
All Featured Investigations
State Department Gives Misleading Testimony to Senate
September 9, 2013 | David S. Hilzenrath
Under Secretary of State for Management Patrick Kennedy delivered inaccurate and misleading testimony to a Senate panel in July when he claimed that the contractor now responsible for protecting the U.S. embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, rebuffed two direct attacks on the embassy compound.
Benghazi Ignored: New Evidence Exposes Gaps in Kabul Embassy Security
September 9, 2013 | Adam Zagorin
Interviews with security personnel and documents obtained by the Project On Government Oversight show gaps in the defenses at the U.S. embassy in war-torn Afghanistan long after a deadly attack in Benghazi brutally reminded Washington of the risks.
Unreleased: Probe Finds CIA Honcho Disclosed Top Secret Info to Hollywood
June 4, 2013 | Adam Zagorin, David S. Hilzenrath
The Defense Department Inspector General’s office has been sitting on a report that former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta disclosed “TOP SECRET” information and other sensitive details two years ago at an event attended by a “Hollywood executive” working on the movie Zero Dark Thirty.
Big Businesses Offer Revolving Door Rewards
March 21, 2013 | Michael Smallberg
Major corporations make it financially advantageous for executives to take government jobs, according to regulatory filings reviewed by POGO. Through their compensation policies, companies may be fueling the revolving door.
A ''Mutiny'' in Kabul: Guards Allege Security Problems Have Put Embassy at Risk
January 17, 2013 | Adam Zagorin
Private guards responsible for protecting what may be the most at-risk U.S. diplomatic mission in the world -- the embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan -- say security weaknesses have left it dangerously vulnerable to attack.
SEC Alumni Help Firms Get a Break
January 7, 2013 | Michael Smallberg
POGO Report - Dangerous Liaisons: Revolving Door at SEC Creates Risk of Regulatory Capture, February 11, 2013, Scores of SEC Alumni Go to Bat for SEC-Regulated Companies
Why Military Whistleblowers Fear Reprisal: When Taking Adverse Personnel Actions, the Chain of Command Often Gets a Pass
October 20, 2011
Each year, hundreds of uniformed members of the military send official complaints to Inspectors General (IGs) within the Department of Defense (DoD) saying that they are the targets of reprisal. Most do not have their claims of reprisal substantiated.
Leaked Audit: Boeing Overcharged Army Up to 177,000 Percent on Helicopter Spare Parts
June 28, 2011
$644.75 for a small gear smaller than a dime that sells for $12.51: more than a 5,100 percent increase in price. $1,678.61 for another tiny part, also smaller than a dime, that could have been bought within DoD for $7.71: a 21,000 percent increase. $71.01 for a straight, thin metal pin that DoD had on hand, unused by the tens of thousands, for 4 cents: an increase of over 177,000 percent.
