SHANAHAN PROBED OVER BOEING BIAS

Acting US Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan is being investigated by the Pentagon's inspector general for alleged bias in acquisitions toward his former employer, Boeing, the inspector general said Wednesday. Investigators are seeking to see if Shanahan, as deputy defense secretary, had violated ethics rules by disparaging Boeing rival Lockheed Martin in meetings at the Pentagon. Government watchdog Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) last week submitted a complaint to the inspector general, citing several media reports that alleged the 30-year Boeing veteran cast aspersions on Lockheed's F-35 fighter while pushing Boeing's F-15X. A Pentagon spokesman, Tom Crosson, said in a statement that Shanahan "welcomes" the probe.