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Report: SOCom budget is legal

Military investigators provide a complete exoneration after allegations that millions of dollars were illegally hidden.

By PAUL DE LA GARZA
Published May 3, 2006

In a report released Tuesday night, the Pentagon inspector general exonerated SOCom, located at MacDill Air Force Base, saying its budgeting process followed the law.

"As a result," the report said, "our audit did not identify any improprieties, fraud, or lying, or conspiracy to commit fraud or lying to the United States Government during the FY 2003 programming and budgeting process."

The report by the audit division of the inspector general marked the first time in more than two years that investigators have made their findings public.

A separate criminal investigation was completed last September, but the U.S. attorney in Tampa decided not to file charges. The Pentagon has refused to release that report.

A second case, involving $25-million in hidden funds at SOCom, was not mentioned in the report released Tuesday.

The investigation was prompted by an anonymous tip to the inspector general.

At the time, members of Florida's congressional delegation expressed outrage that SOCom, which oversees the nation's elite commandos, would hide money from Congress.

The tip that launched the investigation included an e-mail dated Feb. 11, 2002, from then-SOCom comptroller Elaine Kingston to staff.

The e-mail said the Pentagon wanted her to "park" $40-million in SOCom's 2003 budget.

"They needed an answer in 5 minutes," Kingston wrote. "The agency they had it parked with had a problem and couldn't do it."

Kingston wrote that "there was no way for us to park $40M." She wrote that she and SOCom's investment appropriations budget chief found six programs where they could add $20-million.

Kingston coached colleagues on how to account for the additional money and avoid attracting attention to it in congressional briefings.

The findings by the inspector general did not address Kingston's instructions to staff.

However, investigators quoted a witness who said that the practice of "parking" funds in the Department of Defense was known to Congress.

The report also said money can be moved within the Pentagon without alerting Congress if the total is under $10-million.

According to the report, the Pentagon comptroller wanted SOCom to "park" the money after learning of an additional $200-million out of a total budget request of $358-billion.

Investigators said the Pentagon comptroller simply asked SOCom officials if they could use more money in their budget.

But investigators found no official documentation by the Pentagon or SOCom "to support the reason" for the $20-million adjustment.

Investigators stressed that nobody did anything wrong.

"Further review of documentation showed that the $20-million represented in the proposed budget presented to Congress was either reprogrammed or rescinded, and SOCOM did not realize any benefit from the proposal."

In a letter to Sen. Bill Nelson, the Florida Democrat who sits on the Armed Services Committee, SOCom commander Gen. Bryan "Doug" Brown called SOCom staff "competent and responsible stewards of the public trust."

"The completed report underscores our commitment to ensuring that our actions are conducted in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations," Brown wrote.

After prosecutors decided not to file criminal charges in the case, Nelson insisted that SOCom had hidden money from Congress.

He called it a "slush fund."

Nelson has said he would ask the General Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, to investigate.

He could not be reached for comment Tuesday night.

[Last modified May 3, 2006, 05:54:24]