Pentagon Military Analyst Program - Further Investigation

Further Investigation

The Government Accountability Office (GAO), with assistance from the Comptroller General of the United States, released a report on its investigation into the program in July 2009. The GAO confirmed as true the allegations that retired general officers had been given special access to military briefings and facilities for the purpose of influencing public opinion when the retired officers commented in the news media. The GAO concluded, however, that the DoD had not violated any laws with its conduct of the program, because government agencies have traditionally been given wide leeway in how they inform the public about their work. Daniel Gordon, acting general counsel for the GAO, stated that, "While DoD understandably values its ties with retired military officers, we believe that, before undertaking anything along the lines of the now-terminated program at issue in this decision, DoD should consider whether it needs to have additional policies and procedures in place to protect the integrity of, and public confidence in, its public affairs efforts and to ensure the transparency of its public relations activities."

The Federal Communications Commission, in response to the GAO report and urging from Representative John Dingell, stated that it was investigating whether television broadcasters broke "payola" rules on proper disclosure of sponsorship when they used the military analysts. The DoD was continuing to examine the issue under the direction of new DoD IG director Gordon Haddell.

The DoD IG released its investigation report in December 2011. The report found no wrongdoing by the DoD, concluding that it had acted in compliance with government policies and regulation in running the program.