The State Department Inspector General released an alert in 2014 saying $6 billion in contract money "cannot be properly accounted for," but hasn't provided much in the way of details since then.
On Friday, a nonprofit law firm sought to end the mystery by filing a Freedom of Information Act request for associated government records.
The Cause of Action Institute, a legal group with ties to the Koch brothers, according to the Los Angeles Times, wrote in its request that the Office of Inspector General's alert "noted instances where the Department of State lost contract files, maintained incomplete contract files, and allowed an unauthorized payment to a contractor. Many of these cases arose during the tenure of Secretary Hillary Clinton. The total value of the contracts the OIG reviewed exceeded $6 billion."
When the alert was issued, The Washington Post reported that the money was "missing," but according to Inspector General Steve Linick, the alert was misinterpreted:
"Some have concluded based on [the alert] that $6 billion is missing. The alert, however, did not draw that conclusion. Instead, it found that the failure to adequately maintain contract files — documents necessary to ensure the full accounting of U.S. tax dollars — 'creates significant financial risk and demonstrates a lack of internal control over the Department's contract actions.'"
CoA Institute argue that the records should be made available, saying "whether the Department is maintaining complete contract files, which minimizes the risk of fraud and inefficient use of taxpayer funds, is of interest to the public."
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