Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin may have helped to bring unwelcome attention to the travel expenses of Donald Trump’s cabinet members with his since-withdrawn request for a government plane to use on his honeymoon with wife Louise Linton, but an official review has found that his expenses since February have been legit—if somewhat expensive.
Rich Delmar, counsel for the Treasury Inspector-General’s office, has delivered the results of a review into Mnuchin’s use of government planes, which has so far cost around $800,000.
The report, released Thursday, said that all of Mnuchin’s nine requests for government aircraft were for so-called “White House support missions,” where the president has directed that the trip be made. That tally includes the infamous honeymoon trip, which was apparently requested as a White House support mission by mistake. It also includes a trip that will take place later this month.
Although the report notes that it was often not “explicit” whether president Trump really had directed Mnuchin’s trips, it concluded that no laws had been broken.
“I see no violation of law in these requests and uses,” Delmar wrote. However, he said he was concerned about the “disconnect” between the standard of proof required for designating a flight as a “White House support mission,” and the proof that was actually given to back up Mnuchin’s travels.
