An inspector general said the investigation by officials at the US Global Communications Agency by a private law firm into former CEO Michael Pack was a “total waste or waste”. possible” for taxpayers’ money. The law firm charged the agency more than $1.6 million. The officials under the Pack’s review, shown above at a party earlier this year with Steve Forbes, were later vindicated.
Patrick McMullan / PMC via Getty Images
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Patrick McMullan / PMC via Getty Images
An inspector general said the investigation by officials at the US Global Communications Agency by a private law firm into former CEO Michael Pack was a “total waste or waste”. possible” for taxpayers’ money. The law firm charged the agency more than $1.6 million. The officials under the Pack’s review, shown above at a party earlier this year with Steve Forbes, were later vindicated.
Patrick McMullan / PMC via Getty Images
Former President Donald Trump’s choice to oversee the parent agency of Voice of America paid an unduly reputable private law firm to investigate his own agency’s senior executives. that it constituted “the total waste or waste of government resources”. a federal watchdog concluded on Friday.
Michael Pack, former VOA CEO – mother of the CEO of the US Global Communications Agency, awarded the contract without any tendering process to the politically connected law firm McGuireWoods together. ended up receiving more than 1.6 million dollars in taxes from the people.
Friday’s report from the US Department of State’s Inspector General found that the service provided by the law firm “duplicates existing resources and involves the payment of billable hours far in excess of federal employee’s salary can do the same job.” The inspector general also found a “serious violation of federal laws and regulations” in paying a subcontractor without any authorization.
Neither the Pack nor two McGuireWoods representatives responded to attempts to comment on the findings on Friday.
Pack’s original nomination for Trump’s job languished for two years; shortly after appearing at USAGM headquarters in early June 2020, he declared war on his new colleagues. Pack told conservative media that, like Trump himself, he’s there to “swamp drainage” at Voice of America and its sister networks.
In such appearances, Pack claims, without proof, that Opportunities for spies abound in its networks. He embarked on an effort to investigate and stamp out what he accused of widespread anti-Trump bias within Voice of America coverage.
The government-owned service seeks to provide independent news reporting to more than 312 million people abroad each week across multiple platforms. His advisors ordered investigation of individual reporters; he refused to renew the employee visas of some foreign nationals, forcing them to compete for new positions or return home, often with regimes hostile to the United States.
Pack’s criticisms spanned a period of time that included the tenure of former USAGM CEO John Lansing, who is now CEO at NPR. (Under NPR protocols, top newsroom executives were unable to review any USAGM-related network coverage because of his previous position there.)
In the summer of 2020, Pack quickly fired most of his top leadership team, including his chief financial officer, general counsel, and chief strategy officer, angry that they had blocked several creatives. His opinion and warning others could prove to be illegal. Informed that firing them might also be illegal, Pack placed seven people on administrative leave and revoked the security clearances of six of them. In August 2020, Pack has authorized McGuireWoods to conduct an investigation into them.
A July 2021 review by the same government watchdog vindicate the officials with a suspended justification of any wrongdoing. Additionally, it discovered that the Pack targeted them for raising red flags about his actions. The inspector general reprimanded USAGM for not referring concerns about him to its office, the agency responsible for conducting such reviews under federal law. But it also said the costs were very high and contrary to federal rules and regulations.
An attorney for McGuire Woods charged the federal agency $930 an hour for his work; That’s about 12 times the cost it would incur if relying on government attorneys, the inspector general’s office said. “USAGM paid for more than 1,600 hours worked by attorney McGuireWoods, who billed in excess of $500 per hour,” it states.
NPR obtained documents indicating that McGuireWoods intended to collect $2.1 million from USAGMbut its actual bills still fall eventually.
Pack has ties to the Richmond law firm. The conservative filmmaker became close to US Justice Clarence Thomas and his wife Ginni, interviewing the pair for a sympathetic documentary. John Adams, McGuireWoods’ principal partner on USAGM contracts, served as Thomas’ law clerk at the Supreme Court.
Contracts of McGuireWoods
Starting at the end of 2020, NPR has a variety of stories details McGuireWoods’ activities with USAGM, including the law firm’s decision to remove a client that could impede the law firm’s ability to secure lucrative contracts.
The Open Technology Foundation, a nonprofit that relies almost entirely on USAGM for money, sought free advice from McGuireWoods’ attorneys on legal matters in the spring of 2020. In September 2020. In June 2020, Pack decided to take over the fund, to redirect all of its companies subsidizing it, and to fire its leaders and board. Instead, he wants to use the money for anti-censorship software tied to Falun Gong. The fund’s attorneys shared sensitive documents with McGuireWoods as they strategized with the companies’ attorneys over a potential lawsuit to block the moves.
After reviewing the documents and dragging their feet, senior partners at McGuireWoods cited concerns that the case might be too political, three people with knowledge told NPR, and the company dropped the fund. technology as a customer. Pack granted McGuireWoods the contract just weeks later.
In December 2020, Pack reveals a plan stripped the Open Technology Fund’s federal dollars and forbade it from receiving any government funds. In doing so, he relied on documentation from McGuireWoods.
The Inspector General’s report makes no mention of that factor. A complaint to the Virginia State Bar about McGuireWoods’ actions against the Open Technology Fund has not resulted in any action against the company, according to a review of public records.
Pack’s moves drew condemnation from within and without; The United States Congress passed legislation to insulate Voice of America from political interference and in one case, a federal judge called Pack’s actions unconstitutional.
Pack resigned at the request of President Biden just two hours after the new president was sworn into office in January 2021. USAGM’s new leadership approved the inspector general’s findings on Friday. And Biden’s candidate for USAGM CEO, former Voice of America director Amanda Bennett, is still awaiting a vote from the US Senate.
Disclosure: This story was reported by David Folkenflik, NPR media correspondent and edited by Pallavi Gogoi, NPR’s sales manager. As NPR CEO John Lansing was previously the CEO of the US Global Media Agency, no senior news executives or corporate executives at NPR reviewed this story first. when it was published.
