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During Tuesday’s House Armed Services Committee (HASC) hearing on “Oversight of U.S. Military Support to Ukraine,” U.S. Congressman Matt Gaetz (FL-01) grilled Department of Defense Inspector General Robert Storch on whether the Biden Administration is conducting rigorous oversight and ensuring military equipment is delivered to the correct recipients in Ukraine. Since the onset of the war a year ago, the United States has been the top contributor of military equipment and aid to Ukraine, sending over $113 Billion of taxpayer money to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

In response to Rep. Gaetz’s line of questioning, Inspector General Storch ultimately failed to give a clear answer.

The video and rough transcript of the exchange can be found HERE and immediately below.

TRANSCRIPT

Rep. Gaetz: Mr. Storch, you’re our watchdog. Ukraine has a corruption problem, right?

Robert Storch: There’s a long history of issues with corruption in Ukraine. I don’t–

Rep. Gaetz: Infrastructure Minister arrested for stealing $400,000. Deputy head of Zelensky ‘s office can’t explain where the sportscars came from so he had to resign. Deputy Defense Minister resigned over contracting corruption, but the defense ministry put out a statement that his resignation was a worthy deed.

The wife of a former Ukrainian politician was found with $22 million in cash crossing the border into Hungary last year. Seems as though a lot of the zeal for enforcement of the anti-corruption efforts seems to align with the Republican control the House of Representatives in our country. Maybe that’s a coincidence. But let’s get to this end-use monitoring you testified to.

The Arms Control Act of 1996 requires end-use monitoring for certain defense articles that are sold or leased, right?

Robert Storch: Correct.

Rep. Gaetz: And there’s no feature of anything we’ve passed that exempts what we’ve given to Ukraine from those requirements in the Arms Control Act, right?

Robert Storch: Not– not exempts. There are different provisions as to how that plays–

Rep. Gaetz: That is controlling role controlling policy, and here’s the upshot. As you testify here today, you cannot testify, truthfully under oath, that the DOD has complied with the policy and law regarding end-use monitoring during all times in this conflict. Isn’t that right?

Robert Storch: So I want to be careful here when I respond to you, Congressman, to make sure that that I’m clear. We are conducting a series of evaluations that look at the controls that DOD has in place to ensure that they are taking the steps that are required.

Rep. Gaetz: I get all that, but here’s the operative question. We haven’t complied with end-use monitoring according to the law with everything we’ve sent to Ukraine to date, have we?

Robert Storch: So our 2020 report, which is our last public report on this made a number of recommendations, all of those–

Rep. Gaetz: I know, I know, but you’re sort of dodging the question. You cannot testify that we have complied with the end-use monitoring requirements at all times during this conflict, can you?

Robert Storch: So we have an ongoing evaluation right now–

Rep. Gaetz: I get that it’s ongoing. I’m looking backwards. You cannot testify that everything has complied with the law in the end-use monitoring, can you?

Robert Storch: So some of that gets into the classified report that we issued previously–

Rep. Gaetz: Right but I think everyone watching this could see that if you could testify to that, you would. You’re citing a classified report. I don’t know why that report is classified. I think the American people deserve to know if this 1996 law is being followed or not. You can’t testify that it is being followed, and so I think they can draw reasonable conclusions from that.

Author: Press Release

1 COMMENT

  1. Unfortunately, both of Iowa’s senators and my representative are all in for sending billions more dollars and more weapons to the crooks and Nazis in Ukraine. Much of that money has been stolen and hidden in bank accounts in Cyprus. Much of it has come back via money laundering to US politicians, and much is making defense contractors rich. They then fund politicians to promote never-ending war. The west provoked Russia for decades and finally got the war they wanted. Now it’s not going according to the globalist plan, but they keep doubling down on stupid which is only getting thousands of Ukrainian soldiers slaughtered. The thug Azov brigade is dragging old men and young teens off the streets and sending them to the front, where their lifespan is measured in hours. Meanwhile our own country is being invaded daily. Shame on all western politicians! Not one has called for diplomacy. Good for Senator Gaetz. We need more like him to speak the truth.

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