Report: Pentagon spokeswoman under investigation for retaliating against staffers
The Defense Department's inspector general launched an investigation into Dana White, the Pentagon's chief spokeswoman, after receiving multiple complaints that she retaliated against staff members who once ran her personal errands, four people familiar with the matter told CNN on Tuesday.
White is one of Defense Secretary James Mattis' most senior civilian advisers, and she allegedly asked support staff to pick up her dry cleaning, buy things for her at the pharmacy, work on her mortgage application and other financial documents, and give her a ride to work when it snowed.
Several people told CNN that in May, at least two staffers went to senior officials to let them know what White was doing, and not long after, White retaliated by having them transferred. The investigation began weeks ago, CNN reports, and the inspector general has interviewed at least six people so far. Read more about the allegations and White's pre-Pentagon life at CNN.
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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