A searing report from the Architect of the Capitol inspector general suggests Architect J. Brett Blanton drove to Florida on the government’s dime, let his daughter use the office’s “free gas” for Walmart runs, allowed his wife to give prohibited private Capitol tours during the pandemic lockdown and may have misled others into thinking he was an off-duty cop.
The report found Blanton abused his authority, allowing his wife and daughter to drive his government-provided car. The report states the car, a black Ford Explorer with AOC license plates, was reported traveling 65 miles per hour in a 30 mph zone in a Walmart garage near Tysons Corner, Va., in March by a private citizen who filed a complaint. A woman matching the description of Blanton’s adult daughter was behind the wheel at the time.
Per the IG’s report, the AOC’s office provides the architect a car for “continuity of operations or emergency response to the U.S. Capitol, as necessary.” While office policy does allow for government vehicles to be used for daily commutes to the Capitol, they should not be used for non-work functions. But the automobile was consistently driven across the Washington metro area, the report found, “as well as West Virginia, South Carolina and Florida.”
