WASHINGTON — The Pentagon’s watchdog agency on Thursday cleared Acting Defence Secretary Patrick Shanahan of wrongdoing in connection with allegations that he had used his official position to favour his former employer, Boeing Co. The decision by the Defence Department inspector general appears to open the door for President Donald Trump to nominate Shanahan to succeed Jim Mattis as defence secretary. After Mattis quit last December in protest of Trump’s policies, the president installed Shanahan as acting secretary but did not nominate him. Shanahan, who spent 31 years at Boeing, has been serving as the interim Pentagon chief since Jan. 1, after Mattis resigned. The allegations of bias toward Boeing stemmed from his 18 months as deputy defence secretary, beginning in July 2017.

Source: National Post April 25, 2019 11:41 UTC