WASHINGTON — The Architect of the Capitol (AOC) repeatedly allowed family members to use government vehicles and misrepresented himself as a law enforcement officer after chasing a hit-and-run suspect in an AOC-owned Jeep Grand Cherokee in 2020, according to an inspector general report released Tuesday.
The report, compiled by the AOC’s Inspector General’s Office, accused Architect of the Capitol J. Brett Blanton of abusing his authority, misusing government property and wasting taxpayer money on an ongoing basis between at least January 2020 and February 2022. The investigation was initiated after the AOC OIG received a hotline complaint in March 2021 about an AOC-owned vehicle driving recklessly and swerving out of a parking garage in Tyson’s Corner, Virginia, at a high rate of speed.
Investigators said they determined the vehicle was driven and occupied by Blanton’s daughters – part of a pattern, they said, of unauthorized use of AOC-owned vehicles by Blanton and his family that amounted to “no less than $12,434” in unreported benefits. Those unauthorized uses included Blanton’s wife and adult daughter regularly driving AOC vehicles – which his daughter allegedly referred to as “free gas” – and the family using the vehicles for weekend trips to a craft brewery and out-of-town trips to West Virginia, South Carolina and Florida.
Between January 2020 and February 2022, investigators said, Blanton should have driven approximately 10,438 miles based on the AOC’s Time and Attendance System. Instead, a total of 29,291 miles were recorded across the three vehicles assigned to him over that period.
Investigators said Blanton may have also misrepresented himself as a law enforcement officer using his credentials as a member of the Capitol Police Board and the emergency equipment package on his AOC vehicles, which includes law enforcement lights and sirens.
During a May 2020 trip to the Vanish Farmwoods Brewery in Leesburg, Virginia, investigators say Blanton was involved in a minor collision involving an AOC-leased Jeep Grand Cherokee. Blanton allegedly told the other driver he was an “agent” and did not have insurance information because the government would handle the insurance claim.
A month later, according to the OIG report, Blanton used an AOC vehicle to pursue a vehicle that struck the car belonging to one of his daughter’s boyfriends in front of his home. Witnesses told investigators Blanton said he’d used the vehicle’s emergency equipment to pursue the driver – who he detained until Fairfax County Police arrived. In a police report of the incident, Blanton was identified as an off-duty DC police officer.
“Interviews confirmed that, based on Blanton’s statements, affirmative movements, use of law-enforcement-equipped vehicle and credentials, the Fairfax County Police Officers, Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney and defense counsel all believed Blanton was an off-duty law enforcement officer throughout the entire court proceedings,” the OIG report says.
According to the report, Blanton never informed the court he was not a member of law enforcement and participated in pretrial meetings as though he was. When confronted about the issue, Blanton reportedly denied claiming to be law enforcement and “stated that it was their mistake and stated his credentials are marked to say ‘Capitol Police Board Member.’”
The AOC’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from WUSA9, but in the report, investigators said Blanton claimed his personal use of the vehicles was only incidental and that the vehicle was to be “tethered” to him at all times – something investigators say Blanton made up. Blanton also reportedly claimed the AOC’s general counsel and former acting architect had advised him of the permissible use of the vehicle. Both individuals, according to investigators, testified to the opposite during multiple interviews.
“Blanton’s actions have violated every pillar the OIG operates under including theft, fraud, waste and abuse against not only the AOC but also the taxpayer,” investigators wrote in the report.
According to the report, the OIG referred Blanton to the U.S. Attorney’s Offices in D.C. and the Eastern District of Virginia, which both decided not to pursue criminal prosecution after 10 months of investigation. The OIG’s office said it had referred its findings and the alleged violations to the U.S. Government Accountability Office and would provide them to the IRS and the Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney in Virginia for further investigation.