McCain keeps heat on Air Force in Boeing deal
WASHINGTON – Sen. John McCain called Friday for “full accountability” for Air Force officials involved in a controversial contract to acquire tanker aircraft from Boeing, accusing them of incompetence or corruption.
“Either way, full accountability among Air Force leadership is in order,” said McCain, R-Ariz.
Reading from previously unreleased internal Air Force e-mails, McCain charged Air Force Secretary James Roche, who resigned this week, and other Pentagon officials conspired with Boeing to fix the bidding on a $23.5 billion contract that would have added 100 Boeing 767s to the Air Force tanker fleet.
Roche wrote “Go Boeing!” in one e-mail, McCain said. Roche also disparaged one of Boeing’s competitors, European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. (EADS) and its North American chief executive officer, Ralph Crosby. EADS owns 80 percent of the European aircraft manufacturer Airbus.
“Ralphie is the CEO and chairman of a marketing firm, for that’s all there is to EADS, North America,” Roche wrote.
A Roche aide said the secretary was traveling and unavailable for comment.
Air Force spokesman Doug Karas said the e-mails are old news. “The e-mails … reflect negotiations on an acquisition program that is now behind us,” he said.
McCain has long criticized the tanker deal. But his speech Friday was unusually harsh, apparently an effort to prevent Roche’s resignation from ending the controversy.
“The final chapter on the tanker lease proposal cannot be closed until all the stewards of taxpayers’ funds who committed wrongdoing are held accountable,” McCain said.
Former Air Force tanker negotiator Darleen Druyun, who later took a job with Boeing, was sentenced to nine months in prison last month for discussing a job with Boeing while tanker talks were under way. On Monday, former Boeing Chief Financial Officer Mike Sears pleaded guilty for his role in recruiting Druyun. Both were fired from Boeing after an internal ethics probe in 2003.
In addition to Roche, Air Force Acquisitions Chief Marvin Sambur resigned this week, but it is unclear whether the two men might face criminal charges.
The Justice Department is investigating Roche for possible conflict-of-interest violations. Sambur said last week an investigation by the Pentagon inspector general had cleared him. The inspector general declined to comment.
Karas called Druyun’s actions “an affront to the entire Air Force community.”
He said since Druyun’s misdeeds have come to light, the Air Force has changed its acquisition structure and is investigating all contracts with which she was involved.
A Boeing spokesman said the company is cooperating with ongoing investigations.
The tanker deal is on hold while the Pentagon completes two reports related to tanker replacement. But the controversy surrounding the contract makes it unlikely the Boeing deal will go forward, said Richard Aboulafia, an aerospace analyst with The Teal Group in northern Virginia.
McCain said he would continue to push for reform in the way the Air Force procures equipment.
The tanker scandal is just one of several suspicious deals involving Druyun, who admitted in court documents she favored Boeing in other weapons negotiations, calling the tanker contract a “parting gift” to the company.
Lockheed Martin is alleging in a court filing that current Boeing CEO Harry Stonecipher knew the company was receiving favorable treatment from Druyun, a charge Boeing denies.
Earlier this week, the Pentagon announced it is adding new procedures to ensure senior officials who seek employment in industry after leaving the Pentagon abide by rules covering post-government work.