A senior official at the Department of Commerce obtained seven computers and iPads from the government, some of which were then used by family members to watch porn, according to an investigation by the Office of Inspector General (OIG).
The employee, who was unnamed but who heads administrative services for an entire division within the agency, is accused of abusing government policies, overcharging taxpayers for travel, and not cooperating with the OIG investigation.
The OIG used feminine pronouns for all individuals involved, regardless of their sex, to "protect their identity."
"The evidence revealed that Senior Official misused government computer equipment, including permitting members of her household to access and use such equipment, which resulted in inappropriate use of such equipment to view and/or store pornographic, sexually suggestive, and racially offensive materials," according to the audit of the investigation made public Sunday.
The official had "no less than seven government-issued computer resources at her private residence, including two desktop computers, three laptop computers, and at least two iPad tablets, suggesting she was, at a minimum, indifferent to her obligation to conserve government property and resources."
"Additionally, a forensic review of two of these computers revealed that inappropriate materials—including pornographic, sexually suggestive, and racially offensive materials—were either saved on or accessed through the government-owned equipment maintained at Senior Official’s residence," the audit said.
A whistleblower alerted the OIG to the senior official’s actions in December 2013. During the investigation, the senior official attempted to retaliate against an employee for cooperating with the investigation by suspending him or her for three days without pay. The official also wiped data from one of her government-issued iPads, according to the OIG.
Some of the sexually explicit material found on the government desktop computers at the employee’s home was backed up from a family member’s cellphone.
"Sexually suggestive pictures depicting a female in a bathing suit and what appears to be lingerie and underwear" was taken on a Samsung phone and downloaded to the government owned computer.
Other material included "pornographic pictures depicting topless females as well as male and female genitalia," "videos of females dancing with one another in a sexually suggestive manner," that were backed up from an iPhone or iPad.
The desktop computers also had "sexually suggestive pictures of a female posing in underwear and making mildly obscene gestures," and "browser history indicating user accessed multiple pornographic websites."
The senior official said that she did not supervise family members when they used the government devices, but nevertheless said she did not believe viewing porn on government property was a problem, as long as it was after work hours.
"When asked if she thought it was appropriate to access a pornographic website from a government-owned computer, Senior Official stated that assessing such a site would be inappropriate either during work time or when it poses a security risk, but that otherwise she ‘would not feel like [she was] doing anything inappropriate based on what [she] know[s] about the policy is for—government equipment and the use—and the use of it,’" the audit said.
The OIG noted that Department Internet Use Policy explicitly forbids using government devices "during the working or non-working hours" for "unauthorized creation, downloading, viewing, storage, copying, or transmission of sexually explicit or sexually oriented material."
As to why the senior official had so many government laptops, computers, and iPads in the first place, the OIG suggested that she lied in order to obtain them.
The employee told the OIG that anyone in her department could request new devices if there was a "good reason" for the request.
"Senior Official told the OIG that she received a second iPad tablet only after the screen of her first iPad cracked, that she requested a third iPad after she lost the second iPad, and that she received a second Sony laptop computer after a key had fallen off of the first laptop," the audit said.
The OIG found that the computers and tablets were still being used after the employee had said they were broken. She said she did not return them to the agency because she did not have time, and that she "just let it pile up."
While under investigation, the employee is also believed to have "remotely erased" data on one her tablets, "raising concerns regarding whether Senior Official attempted to interfere with the OIG’s investigation."
The OIG also found evidence that the employee overcharged taxpayers $1,365 for a flight to Paris to attend an international conference, and had "numerous discrepancies" in her logged attendance.
In one instance, the senior official claimed to work eight hours from home, though the OIG said it was likely she worked for "as little as twenty minutes."
The audit also found "credible evidence" that the official tried to suspend an employee for three days without pay because he or she cooperated with the OIG.
"This evidence is deeply troubling to the OIG as it calls into question Senior Official’s compliance with her obligations as a government employee," the audit said.
The OIG recommended that the Department of Commerce "consider taking appropriate administrative action with respect to Senior Official in light of the conduct discussed in this report."
The senior official has since hired a lawyer.