The Department of Justice (DOJ) declined to investigate former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao after it received a case referral from the Transportation Department’s internal watchdog that faulted her for four potential kinds of ethics violations, according to documents released this week. The Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Office of Inspector General (OIG) report (pdf), which was made public by House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) and Transportation Committee Chairman Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) on March 3, reviewed allegations of potential misuse of office. Chao, who is married to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), served as secretary of transportation during most of the Trump administration, before resigning on Jan. 7. She reportedly has deep ties to China through her family’s shipping business, the Foremost Group; the business was founded by her father, James S. C. Chao, and its current chief executive is Chao’s sister. The OIG’s probe into Chao …