Politics

GAO To Investigate Mar-a-Lago Members' Possible Influence At VA

The agency said in a letter to Sen. Elizabeth Warren it accepted her request to review the involvement of private citizens in any VA activities.

GAO To Investigate Mar-a-Lago Members' Possible Influence At VA
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The U.S. Government Accountability Office has agreed to look into if members of President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago club inappropriately influenced the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The agency said in a letter to Sen. Elizabeth Warren it accepted her request to review the involvement of private citizens in any VA activities.

Both Warren and Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii asked the GAO for an investigation back in August after a ProPublica report claimed several people with ties to Mar-a-Lago were affecting decisions at the VA.

The report said three men are "secretly shaping the Trump administration's veterans policies." All three are private citizens and don't have official government roles.

In a statement to ProPublica, the three men said they "offered our help and advice on a voluntary basis seeking nothing at all in return."

The GAO says it will be able to begin its investigation in about five months.

Additional reporting from Newsy affiliate CNN.