Report: Former Pentagon spokeswoman misused staff

July 18 (UPI) -- A former Pentagon spokeswoman misused staff to run her personal errands, a watchdog report found.

The Department of Defense Office of Inspector General report was based on allegations of reprisal and misconduct against Dana White, former assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs, and her deputy Charles Summers, though the allegation against Summers wasn't substantiated.

"White misused her subordinate's time for personal services and improperly accepted gifts from her subordinates," the report said. "The services occurred both during and after official duty hours."

Personal errands included getting "lunch and snacks for her, scheduling makeup appointments at her residence, making an ATM cash withdrawal on her behalf, ordering personal stationary for her, driving her to and from work on a snowy day, and dropping off and picking up her dry cleaning," the report said.

The report specifically mentioned "pantyhose" as a gift she accepted from one of her subordinates, though the subordinate said that White reimbursed her. White also reimbursed mileage costs to two of her staff who drove her in their own vehicles on two occasions after someone raised a complaint.

A separate allegation that White failed to treat staff with respect was not substantiated. An allegation that Summers knew of White's alleged misconduct and failed to take action was also not supported.

Investigators interviewed White, Summers and 10 witnesses and reviewed personnel records, unofficial correspondence and ethical standards to reach the conclusion that White violated ethics rules.

White served as the chief spokeswoman for the Department of Defense and Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis. She resigned in December, after over a year and a half of service, on the heels of Mattis announcing his resignation, citing policy differences with President Donald Trump.