Time misrepresented the findings of an Inspector General report to falsely imply that former State Department aide Cheryl Mills was faulted for “strong-arming” departmental investigations, even though the inspector general cleared Mills of wrongdoing in the only case where her actions were investigated.

In an October 17 piece, Time claimed several aides to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had been faulted for the appearance of “undue influence and favoritism” during three State Department investigations. In what Time called “the highest-level case,” a U.S. Ambassador in Belgium was recalled to Washington for an internal review into accusations that he had solicited a prostitute. “The move effectively halted an investigation by the department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security,” Time reported. It continued:

The ambassador, Howard Gutman, was recalled to Washington from Belgium to meet with Under Secretary of State for Management Patrick Kennedy and Clinton Counselor and Chief of Staff Cheryl Mills, according to the report.

By focusing on Mills' role in that meeting -- in an article centered around claims that Clinton aides were strong-arming investigators and fostering an atmosphere of favoritism -- Time implied that Mills was found negligent by the Inspector General. But the inspector general report did not criticize Mills for her role in that meeting. The IG report was only critical of the decision to internalize the inquiry, a decision made by the Undersecretary of Management, Patrick Kennedy. From the report:

The Under Secretary of State for Management told OIG that he decided to handle the suspected incident as a “management issue” based on a disciplinary provision in the FAM that he had employed on prior occasions to address allegations of misconduct by Chiefs of Mission.

Despite insinuating that Mills was criticized by the Inspector General, Time made no mention of the fact that Mills was explicitly cleared of wrongdoing in a separate investigation, even though that investigation was a focus of their report. The investigation centered on whether that an assistant secretary of state was found to have improperly delayed an interview with a nominee to be ambassador to Iraq. Mills, who was Chief of Staff at the time, was explicitly cleared of any improper actions:

OIG found no evidence of any undue influence by the Chief of Staff/Counselor. 

[...]

OIG did not find evidence of perceived or actual undue influence or favoritism in four of the DS internal investigations reviewed.