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March 21, 2019

Pentagon Watchdog to Probe Acting Defense Secretary's Ties to Boeing
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The Pentagon's inspector general has launched a probe into whether
acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan unfairly favored the weapons
contractor Boeing, where Shanahan spent over three decades as an
executive. The inquiry comes a week after the watchdog group Citizens
for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed a complaint alleging
Shanahan "praised Boeing in discussions about government contracts, said
that Boeing would have done much better than its competitor Lockheed
Martin had it been awarded a fighter jet contract, and repeatedly
'dumped on' the jet Lockheed produced." Shanahan's ties to Boeing face
renewed scrutiny after the company's 737 MAX jets remain grounded
worldwide following deadly crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia. Meanwhile,
CNN reports the Justice Department has issued multiple subpoenas seeking
information on Boeing's safety and certification procedures, as well as
how the company marketed its 737 aircraft, as part of a criminal
investigation.


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