Takeaways of AP report on watchdog probe into DEA hiring

By JOSHUA GOODMAN and JIM MUSTIAN
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal watchdog is investigating whether the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration under chief Anne Milgram improperly awarded millions of dollars in no-bid contracts to hire her past associates. That’s according to several people familiar with the probe who spoke to The Associated Press. The Justice Department’s Inspector General is scrutinizing $4.7 million the DEA spent over the past two years for “strategic planning and communication” and other contracts to help bring in people Milgram knew from her days as New Jersey’s attorney general and as a New York University law professor. Some of the contract hires make up Milgram’s inner circle, handling intelligence, data analytics, community outreach and public relations.