Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke's travels have drawn scrutiny after Interior revealed he had taken non-commercial flights at taxpayer expense, POLITICO and other news outlets have reported. | AP Photo Watchdog slams Zinke for failing to document travel The interior secretary has been asked for documentation for his and his wife's travel.

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke failed to properly document his travel, the agency's watchdog said Thursday, preventing it from determining whether he had violated government rules.

Zinke has come under scrutiny for mixing taxpayer-funded travel with political activities, as well as taking military or private planes rather than flying commercial, and the investigation by Interior's Office of Inspector General seeks to clarify whether all procedures were correctly followed.


"Our investigation is delayed by absent or incomplete documentation for several pertinent trips and a review process that failed to include proper documentation and accountability," Deputy Inspector General Mary Kendall said in a letter obtained by POLITICO and first reported by The Washington Post.

Zinke's travels have drawn scrutiny after Interior revealed he had taken non-commercial flights at taxpayer expense, POLITICO and other news outlets have reported. POLITICO has also reported that the former congressman from Montana has mixed taxpayer-paid trips with political work, such as when he participated in a fundraiser on behalf of the Virgin Islands GOP.

The IG criticized Zinke for failing to complete documentation for his travel in the fiscal year that ended on Sept. 30, and said that the process established by Interior's Ethics Office and Office of the Solicitor "does not include sufficient documentation of the legal and ethical analysis conducted to distinguish between personal, political, and official travel, or consistent cost analysis to justify use of non-commercial travel."

The IG asked for documentation of all of Zinke's travel, as well as for the documentation of travel by his wife, Lola Zinke, with documentation for how and when the travel was paid.

Deputy Secretary David Bernhardt, the agency's second-ranking official, blamed the lack on documentation on the Obama administration for leaving behind "an organizational and operational mess."

Morning Energy newsletter The source for energy and environment news — weekday mornings, in your inbox. Email Sign Up By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

In his response letter, Bernhardt emphasized that Interior employees would continue to cooperate with the IG, and said he would provide documentation as requested.

But he also went on to note that former Interior Secretary Sally Jewell hadn't completed her documentation for 12 trips taken last year and in January of this year, and he said some trips may have never been entered in the system.

"When I arrived at the Department in August 2017 it was clear to me that the Secretary and I had inherited an organizational and operational mess," he wrote. "From my perspective, regarding IOS travel procedures, it appears that the exact same procedures and processes utilized by the previous Administration remain in place and continue to be dysfunctional."

Zinke joins a cast of Trump administration officials, including Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and now-departed Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, who are accused of misuse of taxpayer funds for travel.

Esther Whieldon contributed to this report.