Each week, The Investigative Journal surveys reports from government watchdogs and accountability organizations across the political spectrum. We note each group’s orientation and funding so readers can weigh the findings accordingly.
1. GAO Finds Federal Agencies Repeating Costly AI Procurement Mistakes
Source: Government Accountability Office (nonpartisan, congressionally mandated) — GAO-26-107859, released April 13, 2026.
The Government Accountability Office published a detailed examination of how four major federal agencies — the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, the General Services Administration, and the Department of Veterans Affairs — are acquiring artificial intelligence capabilities. The findings paint a troubling picture of institutional amnesia: agencies are learning expensive lessons about AI procurement in isolation and then failing to share those lessons with peer agencies or even other divisions within their own departments.
The report identifies six recurring problem areas that plague federal AI procurement. Talent gaps top the list, with agencies struggling to assemble the data scientists, software engineers, cybersecurity specialists, and privacy experts needed at every stage of the acquisition lifecycle — from defining requirements and evaluating vendors to monitoring post-award performance. Pricing opacity emerged as another major concern, with procurement officials reporting difficulty understanding AI-related costs, creating an environment ripe for overspending. Other persistent challenges include misaligned acquisition timelines, unclear data and intellectual property rights, and difficulties in testing and continuously evaluating AI systems after deployment.
Perhaps most consequential is the report’s central finding: none of the four agencies had departmental policies requiring the systematic collection of lessons learned from AI acquisitions. GAO is recommending that all four agencies update their policies to require officials to document and share AI procurement experiences through GSA’s managed repository. All four agencies concurred, with DHS setting a July 31, 2026 target completion date and VA committing to August 1, 2026. Given the rapid pace of federal AI adoption, the absence of institutional learning mechanisms suggests taxpayers may be paying for the same mistakes across multiple agencies simultaneously.
2. DOJ Inspector General Audits Reveal Gaps in Victim Assistance Fund Oversight
Source: Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General (statutory federal watchdog) — Multiple audits released April 1–15, 2026. Reports available at oig.justice.gov.
The Department of Justice Inspector General released a series of audits in April 2026 examining how states manage federally funded victim assistance grants distributed through the Office of Justice Programs. On April 15, the IG published a risk assessment of the Nebraska Commission on Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice’s subrecipient monitoring activities. On April 9, auditors examined victim assistance funds subawarded by the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services to the Virginia Department of Social Services. On April 7, a similar audit reviewed funds subawarded by the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs to One Place Family Justice Center in Montgomery.
Separately, on April 1, the DOJ IG released two audits addressing information security at the Civil Rights Division, including an evaluation of security controls on the CRT-Justice Consolidated Office Network and an assessment of the division’s Information Security Management Program under the Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2014 for fiscal year 2025. These cybersecurity audits are particularly significant given the sensitive nature of civil rights enforcement data, including information about ongoing investigations and protected witnesses. The pattern of multiple states requiring audit attention for victim assistance fund management suggests systemic weaknesses in how federal grant dollars reach the individuals they are intended to serve.
3. DOD Inspector General Confirms Unsafe Conditions for National Guard Troops Deployed to Los Angeles
Source: Department of Defense Inspector General (statutory federal watchdog) — Findings referenced in congressional statement, April 2026.
The Department of Defense Inspector General confirmed findings of unsafe and unsanitary conditions affecting National Guard troops during a domestic deployment, according to a statement released by U.S. Congresswoman Norma Torres of California’s 35th District. The IG’s findings validated earlier concerns that service members were subjected to inadequate housing and food service conditions during their assignment. This report follows a related DOD IG Management Advisory from earlier in 2026 regarding inadequate housing of soldiers supporting the southern border mission, which evaluated whether USNORTHCOM and the Army effectively sustained Stryker Brigade Combat Team personnel.
The findings raise important questions about military readiness and the logistical capacity of the Defense Department to sustain domestic deployments at scale. When troops deployed domestically are served unsafe food and housed in substandard conditions, it suggests planning and resource allocation failures that warrant deeper investigation. Records indicate this is not an isolated incident but part of a broader pattern affecting troops assigned to domestic operations, making it a systemic concern rather than a localized failure.
4. OpenTheBooks Tracks $186 Billion in Federal Improper Payments
Source: OpenTheBooks / American Transparency (center-right, privately funded nonprofit) — Ongoing analysis published at openthebooks.substack.com.
OpenTheBooks, the nonprofit government spending watchdog, published a detailed analysis of the federal government’s FY2025 improper payment data that reveals a troubling trajectory. The federal government disbursed $186 billion in improper payments during FY2025, an increase of $25 billion over FY2024’s $161 billion. While these figures represent an improvement from the COVID-era peaks of $236 billion to $281 billion annually between 2021 and 2023, the upward trend in the post-pandemic period is concerning.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services remains the single largest source of improper payments, accounting for $96.1 billion of the FY2025 total — more than half of all federal improper payments. CMS improper payments rose from $87 billion in FY2024. Of the 63 federal agencies reviewed, only 48 achieved compliance, a 76 percent rate. Chronically noncompliant departments include HHS, which has been noncompliant for 14 consecutive years with $28.5 billion in confirmed fraud losses between 2017 and 2024, and the Pentagon, noncompliant in 13 of the last 14 years with $10.8 billion in fraud losses. The Treasury Department, the USDA, and the VA have also been noncompliant for 14 consecutive years.
Perhaps most alarming is a critical transparency gap: the FY2025 report excludes “confirmed fraud” data that was previously a standard reporting metric. The FY2024 report documented more than $7 billion in court-confirmed fraud, but equivalent FY2025 figures are simply missing. The absence of this data — including root causes of monetary losses and detailed recovery information — makes it impossible for taxpayers and Congress to assess whether fraud enforcement is improving or deteriorating. On a positive note, Congress did pass the Ending Improper Payments for Deceased People Act, addressing the $3.6 billion in stimulus checks previously sent to deceased individuals.
5. Capital Research Center Investigates ActBlue’s Congressional Testimony
Source: Capital Research Center (center-right, privately funded) — Published at capitalresearch.org, April 2026.
The Capital Research Center published an investigation into allegations that the Democratic fundraising platform ActBlue provided inaccurate information to Congress regarding its foreign donation screening practices. According to the report, which draws on memos, resignation letters, and screenshots, ActBlue CEO Regina Wallace-Jones signed statements describing a “multilayered” screening system to block illegal foreign donations. However, more than 460 days later, ActBlue’s own external counsel, the elite Washington law firm Covington & Burling, reportedly discovered that the screening steps described in those congressional statements were not consistently followed.
The investigation cites a House Judiciary Committee report documenting 237 separate donations made from foreign IP addresses using domestic prepaid cards during a 30-day window in September and October 2024. Five Connecticut donors signed affidavits stating they had not made donations attributed to them through ActBlue, despite records showing hundreds of thousands of dollars in transactions linked to their identities — raising concerns about so-called “straw donor” or “smurfing” schemes. The report also notes that seven senior ActBlue officials departed within a single month after the discrepancies surfaced, and an internal lawyer was placed on leave after posting about whistleblower protections. ActBlue’s charitable wings reported $8.6 million in escrow or custodial account liability in 2024 while disclosing minimal grant-making activity. Congressional investigators are reportedly considering compelling testimony from ActBlue leadership.
6. Judicial Watch Secures Removal of 372,000 Inactive Voters from Colorado Rolls
Source: Judicial Watch (conservative, privately funded legal watchdog) — Press release, April 8, 2026.
Judicial Watch announced on April 8 that 372,000 inactive voter registrations have been removed from Colorado’s voter rolls following a lawsuit and subsequent legal settlement. The organization’s litigation targeted what it described as the state’s failure to comply with federal voter list maintenance requirements under the National Voter Registration Act. The settlement represents one of the largest voter roll cleanup actions secured through litigation in recent years and follows similar Judicial Watch efforts in other states.
Separately, Judicial Watch filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the Department of Justice on April 7 seeking records related to FBI search warrants used in the April 2021 raid on former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s residence and office. The organization also filed a FOIA lawsuit against the Federal Reserve Board of Governors on April 2 for undisclosed records. Judicial Watch has long maintained that voter roll maintenance is a critical election integrity measure, while critics argue that aggressive roll purges risk disenfranchising eligible voters. The Colorado settlement’s scale makes it a significant data point in the ongoing national debate over election administration and list maintenance practices.
7. ProPublica Investigation Prompts Congressional Action on DOJ Crypto Conflicts
Source: ProPublica (center-left, nonprofit investigative journalism) — Published at propublica.org.
A ProPublica investigation into Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche’s cryptocurrency holdings has prompted action from six U.S. Senators and a formal ethics complaint. According to ProPublica’s reporting, Blanche held at least $159,000 in crypto-related assets when he signed an April 7 memo titled “Ending Regulation by Prosecution” that halted cryptocurrency enforcement investigations launched under the Biden administration and disbanded the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team. Blanche had signed an ethics agreement in February promising to divest his cryptocurrency holdings within 90 days of confirmation and to recuse himself from matters that could affect his financial interests in virtual currency.
Financial disclosure records cited by ProPublica indicate that the value of Blanche’s bitcoin holdings alone rose by 34 percent — to $105,881.53 — between the date he issued the enforcement memo and the date he ultimately divested. Blanche also held investments in Solana, Ethereum, and Coinbase stock. When he did divest, ethics records show he transferred the holdings to his adult children and a grandchild, a move ethics experts told ProPublica is technically legal but inconsistent with the intent of federal ethics rules. The Campaign Legal Center, a nonpartisan government watchdog, has asked the Justice Department’s Inspector General to investigate whether Blanche’s orders violated federal ethics law by broadly benefiting an industry in which he held personal financial interests.
Reports Warranting Deeper Investigation
Several findings from this week’s roundup merit continued attention from The Investigative Journal. The missing “confirmed fraud” data in the FY2025 improper payments report raises immediate transparency concerns — $7 billion in documented fraud from FY2024 has no equivalent accounting in FY2025, and taxpayers deserve to know why that metric was dropped. The GAO’s AI procurement report reveals a structural problem that will only grow as federal AI spending accelerates: without institutional memory, agencies will continue overpaying for capabilities that other departments have already figured out how to acquire more efficiently. The ActBlue investigation, now drawing bipartisan scrutiny, involves questions about the integrity of the campaign finance system that transcend partisan politics. And the DOD Inspector General’s findings about troop conditions during domestic deployments deserve scrutiny regarding whether the logistical failures are symptomatic of broader readiness challenges.