The DoD Hotline received a complaint against Mr. Michael Cutrone, former Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs (ASD[ISA]) on December 15, 2020. The Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy (OUSD[P]) referred two anonymous complaints against Mr. Cutrone to our office on December 17, 2020. In general, the complaints alleged that Mr. Cutrone’s bullying and demeaning behavior towards his subordinates created an abusive and toxic work environment.
The DoD Office of Inspector General (DoD OIG) initiated an investigation on February 22, 2021, into the allegation that Mr. Cutrone fostered a negative work environment and failed to treat subordinates with dignity and respect by disparaging and demeaning them. During the course of our investigation, we also examined an allegation that Mr. Cutrone consumed alcohol in the Pentagon without written authorization.
We evaluated the conduct against the standards summarized throughout this report.