Elaine Chao Now Under Investigation for Abuse of Office

As the Democrats essentially telegraphed on their way into office, they are out to get Donald Trump, and anyone even remotely associated with his administration.   This is “the resistance”, remember?  That fictional band of liberals who were going to save the world from all things MAGA.

So, as they took to power in January, the investigations began and the Dems began to drill deep into the cohorts of The Don.

The latest to come under the microscope is none other that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s wife Elaine Chao, who served as the transportation secretary under Donald Trump.

The Transportation Department’s inspector general asked the Justice Department in December to consider a criminal probe into then-Secretary Elaine Chao over her alleged misuse of office, documents made public Wednesday said, including her alleged use of staff for personal tasks like sending Christmas ornaments to family.

The Justice Department and the US Attorney’s Office in Washington, however, declined to pursue the case in the final weeks of the Trump administration, stating there “may be ethical and/or administrative issues to address but there is not predication to open a criminal investigation,” according to Transportation Department Deputy Inspector General Mitch Behm’s 38-page report detailing his office’s extensive ethics concerns surrounding Chao’s conduct.

“We concluded that a formal investigation into potential misuses of position was warranted,” Behm wrote in a letter accompanying the report.

But this wasn’t exactly an organic impetus…

The probe had been requested by the Democratic leadership of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, which asked the IG’s office to investigate Chao’s “possible conflicts of interest,” including various reports that her office was giving “preferential treatment to Kentucky.” Behm wrote that his preliminary review did not find “a sufficient basis” to formally investigate those claims but an investigation into potential misuse of office was warranted.

The allegations are wide-ranging, and include asking the DHS to take a look at a work-permit situation for a family friend, as well as asking staff to send personal mail for Chao.