House GavelGate Investigation Ends Without a Bang

It was an investigation in search of a violation of federal law. It was a waste of time.

Former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy requested that carpenters in the Architect of the Capitol (AOC) make eight gavels from fallen trees on the campus. An agency watchdog group launched an investigation after it received a referral.

 The AOC’s Office of Inspector General investigated the claim even though McCarthy hadn’t been a member of Congress for months. And, requests like McCarthy’s to repurpose fallen wood have gone on for years. 

The report of the investigation was released on April 10. 

The repurposing process doesn’t save taxpayer money but no evidence proved McCarthy improperly used government funds. 

AOC is usually a low-profile legislative branch agency. It has been riddled with scandal lately. In January, the drama surfaced.

Five former leaders at the Architect of the Capitol have taken legal action against the agency after getting removed from their roles, in complaints that allege employment discrimination at the agency responsible for the upkeep and preservation of the Capitol Building and grounds.

Taken together, they paint a picture of bitter office strife among the agency leadership as a scandal ousted former Architect of the Capitol J. Brett Blanton, with descriptions of potential law violations, clashes with congressional staff, and even workers investigated for going to a bar for a retirement party.

That includes a new complaint this week with the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights from a former director of legislative and public affairs that alleges gender discrimination and retaliation for her reporting sexist and corrupt behavior in the agency.

In McCarthy’s case, the watchdog referred the matter to the House Committee on Ethics. It is to determine if McCarthy violated the House Code of Official Conduct. This is absurd. The Ethics Committee is not expected to find any violation.

Daniel Schuman, governance director at the POPVOX Foundation, weighed in.

“It is extraordinarily unlikely that the House Ethics Committee would start an investigation based on the referral,” Schuman said. “If there were an ongoing investigation, they would most likely end it at the departure of the member.”

Nonetheless, the original investigation continued. Did McCarthy use the eight gavels he requested as gifts? No. There was no proof of any such thing.

The inspector general investigation confirmed that eight gavels were made and delivered to McCarthy. Then it sought to find out if McCarthy intended to use the gavels as gifts.

“All witnesses interviewed in the course of this investigation stated that they believed the gavels would be used for official purposes only. No one claimed to have any knowledge that Speaker McCarthy planned to, or did, give gavels away as gifts,” the inspector general wrote.

“One witness stated they were aware that the gavels were used on the House floor until McCarthy was removed from the position of Speaker,” the report states. “They did not know what became of the gavels when McCarthy left office.”

The inspector general added the gavels were not “accountable AOC property” and not traceable once they were given to the then-speaker.

The claim about the gavels surfaced in a lawsuit filed by a former employee. One employee alleged a request for gift gavels by McCarthy’s office. As I said, this repurposing of wood has gone on for years. The watchdog didn’t think it was a good look from a government point of view.  “While it would seem that using wood from these trees is a simple matter that saves taxpayer money, our investigation found it is actually the opposite,” the inspector general wrote.

“While AOC personnel in the Carpentry Section are capable of crafting gavels, and have done so for years, much of the wood that is recovered from Capitol campus trees is unsuitable for that use,” the report states. “Additionally, the AOC lacks the necessary space and resources to dry and process large pieces of wood.”

 All of a sudden, a Republican speaker is investigated on a trumped-up charge that involved making eight gavels out of wood from fallen trees. Good heavens. How dumb can the government get? Instead of worrying about McCarthy giving out the gavels as gifts, though people witnessed him using the gavels, it would be nice if the watchdog investigated more important things. McCarthy is gone. It should concentrate on members currently serving in the House.