Biden’s pick for the FAA, Phillip Washington, was outed on Wednesday by Senator Ted Cruz during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation for being under investigation.
This is despite the media calling this fake news and Washington denying he was under any investigation.
Senator Ted Cruz addressed Biden’s pick for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and addressed the fact that he was under investigation. Cruz went on to say that Washington was the first nominee he could recall who was entangled in an ongoing public corruption investigation while their nomination was pending.
HISTORIC
Sen. Ted Cruz to Biden FAA pick Phil Washington: “You’re the first nominee I can recall who is currently entangled in an ongoing public corruption investigation right now while your nomination is pending. This investigation involves an alleged pic.twitter.com/DfirGix8Ja… https://t.co/aCAdtkclNc
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) March 1, 2023
The Current Report in Los Angeles has reported on this investigation for years, noting that Washington has denied being under investigation for years as well.
Ranking member of the Senate on Commerce, Science and Transportation, Senator Ted Cruz, gave an update yesterday at the senate confirmation hearing on the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s criminal investigation that led to criminal warrants naming the Biden FAA nominee, Phillip Washington.
The criminal investigation spanning three-years produced substantial evidence to justify issuing the warrants based on thousands of documents (many reviewed by The Current Report) dating back to the Peace Over Violence hotline scandal that FOXLA broke in 2020.
Washington has made several public statements stating he was not the subject of a criminal investigation. The investigation was a result of alleged Fraud, Waste, Abuse and Pay-to-Play that occurred under Washington’s tenure at LA Metro.
Cruz provided valuable insight and an update on the investigation at the Senate hearing detailing his recent communication with California Attorney General Rob Bonta regarding the criminal investigation which was confirmed on record as “on-going” and that Washington is “materially involved”.
LA Metro HQ issued warrants in September and served Washington despite him being hand-picked by Joe Biden just two months before to head the FAA.
The investigation is into a pay-to-play scandal involving Washington when he was in LA according to The Current. He and fellow associates were reportedly involved in a pay-to-play scheme.
On September 14th, 2022 at approximately 7:27 a.m., Sheriff’s deputies gained entry into LA Metro Headquarters to seize documents and evidence associated with the Pay-to-Play and Public Corruption regarding the sole source contracts with Peace Over Violence and CEO Patti Giggans, a close friend of Supervisor Sheila Kuehl…
…Kuehl offered her take on the motivation for the search, which she said may stem from the awarding of a county contract to nonprofit Peace Over Violence, which is run by Giggans. Giggans also is a member of the Los Angeles County Civilian Oversight Commission. As investigators searched her home, Kuehl told reporters that she had been alerted the night before by an attorney in the county counsel’s office who she said heard about the impending search from Inspector General Max Huntsman.
“What this is all about is a disgruntled employee at Metro who was let go who became obsessed with a contract that Metro took with Peace Over Violence related to sexual harassment,” Kuehl said. “She claimed that I had something to do with the contract, which is completely false. It never came to the board.”
As a result of Kuehl’s public statements about the criminal case, a $5 million defamation suit was filed on January 26th, 2023 by whistleblower Jennifer Loew, the “disgruntled” former LA Metro employee Kuehl was referring to. Loew is the original whistleblower who exposed Washington’s nepotism hiring at LA Metro and the fraud, waste, abuse and Pay-to-Play that lead to the criminal case against Giggans, Kuehl and Washington.
Washington is in the middle of it all. Biden wants him to run the FAA. After the investigation was revealed Joe Biden has only pushed harder on Phillip Washington’s nomination.