Ignoring laws and court orders is nothing new for President Joe Biden’s administration. The Pentagon just added another one to the growing list.
The Intercept reported on Thursday that Rep. Matt Gaetz is fuming because military leaders have ignored his request for information about U.S.-backed coups in Africa, in violation of a provision of the Pentagon’s massive spending bill.
As the outlet reported, the budget law includes language that supposedly forced the military to provide information about coups executed by America’s partners in Africa. The military had 90 days after the bill was passed in December.
Read: Watch: Rep. Matt Gaetz Grills General On U.S. Training African Soldiers Who Lead Coups
Lawmakers are supposed to be given the number of coups, any vetting process the U.S. used for its partners, and any actions the military has taken to boost their foreign trainees’ respect for civilian control of their military forces.
During a House Armed Services Committee hearing held March 21, just one day before the 90-day deadline, Gaetz asked Gen. Michael Langley, commander of U.S. Africa Command, about any report. “You’ll get your answer, Congressman,” Langley replied.
Yet Gaetz, a Fort Walton Beach Republican, noted he still has no answers.
“Given the DoD has failed to meet the congressionally mandated deadline,” Gaetz wrote in a letter sent Wednesday to Defense Department Secretary Lloyd Austin, “I am formally requesting the briefing or report on security cooperation with African military units who received DoD training and equipping, and subsequently overthrew their governments within the AFRICOM AOR” — or area of responsibility.
In an interview, Gaetz told The Intercept, “It’s particularly egregious how the Department of Defense dodges a clear legal order to brief Congress about the coups led by African militaries after receiving U.S. military assistance within AFRICOM.”
Read: Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz Calls On House To Defend Hunter Biden Whistleblowers
“This blatant sidestepping of reporting requirements not only undermines legislative oversight but raises significant concerns about transparency and accountability within the DoD’s foreign military assistance program.”
The Intercept reported that at least 15 African military officers who received U.S. security assistance have been involved in a dozen coups across Africa. In some cases, multiple coups were staged in the same country, sometimes in the same year.
The affected nations include Burkina Faso, Chad, Gambia, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger.
During that committee hearing last week, Langley tried to assert the U.S. was not responsible.
“There’s no correlation or causation of U.S. training to a coup happening,” he told Gaetz at the time.
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