John Boehner, the former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, appeared before a federal grand jury on Thursday in relation to his role as a board member for Steward Health Care, which is facing a criminal probe into alleged corruption.
The Boston Globe reported that the retired Republican congressman ignored questions from journalists as he walked into the John J. Moakley U.S. Courthouse in Boston, where he spent two hours.
Grand jury proceedings are secret, so the substance of Boehner’s testimony is unknown. But as a board member, Boehner would have known details about the dire financial health of the company, which is now bankrupt.
OCCRP and the Boston Globe have reported that Steward executives paid themselves lavish dividends, flew in private jets, and spent tens of millions of dollars on fishing boats and yachts.
Meanwhile, patients were put at risk as Steward hospitals struggled to obtain basic supplies, amid a financial meltdown.
Steward was a major provider of private healthcare in the U.S., but it is also accused of potential violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, a law that prohibits bribery or corruption abroad, the Boston Globe reported.
OCCRP has reported that Steward executives signed off on millions of euros of payments to a Swiss company suspected of funneling bribes to former Malta Prime Minister Joseph Muscat.
There is no direct evidence that Steward knew the payments to the Swiss company ended up in the alleged bribes. But leaked invoices show that the payments were often listed instead as expenses for company jets, or political consultancy, raising questions as to why that was necessary.
Muscat has pleaded not guilty of corruption charges in Malta, in a case related to a multi-billion-euro contract Steward took over in 2018 to renovate and manage public hospitals.
After leaving politics, Boehner joined Steward's board in 2019. Board members received $125,000 to $250,000 per year, the Boston Globe reported, and Boehner also made use of the company’s private jets.
