Embattled Architect of the Capitol (AOC) Inspector General Kevin Mulshine will retire from his post in December, The Daily Caller News Foundation’s Investigative Group has learned.
Mulshine’s impending retirement follows a blistering Government Accountability Office (GAO) audit, which TheDCNF reported exclusively earlier this month, revealing that Mulshine stripped his office of its criminal investigative powers, told the staff of the Architect of the Capitol to conduct its own investigations, and performed no audits of major projects.
Mulshine took control of the 10-person IG office with a $1.8 million budget in September 2013, tasked with holding U.S. Capitol construction projects and groundskeeping accountable to the public. But GAO found that Mulshine only saved taxpayers $7,620 in fiscal year 2015. (RELATED: Misbehaving Bureaucrats Protected By Watchdogs In Most Reports)
“The OIG’s lack of adequate audit planning, lack of criminal investigators, and reliance on AOC program offices to conduct investigations of alleged wrongdoing have contributed to a significant decline in its audit and investigative reports and reported monetary accomplishments,” GAO said.
“As a result, AOC management and the Congress may not be fully and currently informed about potential problems and deficiencies relating to the administration of programs and operations of AOC,” GAO said.
Congress established the AOC IG in 2007 when construction of the Capitol Visitors Center ran late and over-budget. But Architect of the Capitol Stephen Ayers hires and fires the AOC IG, thus creating a situation in which the IG reports to the same person he is supposed to hold accountable. By contrast, most executive branch IGs are appointed by the president.
Neither Mulshine nor Ayers responded to TheDCNF’s requests for comment.
Send tips to katie@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.