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Report: Trump appointees working around ethics violations

Rogue Valley

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Report: Trump appointees working around ethics violations


by Kelly Cohen | Apr 15, 2017

trump-argentina.jpg

(AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Some presidential appointees in the Trump administration have very close business ties to the agencies for which they work, and the Trump administration might be working around ethics violations, according to a report Saturday. The New York Times, working in collaboration with ProPublica, reports that an analysis of lobbying documents and interviews with current and former ethics officials found that at least two appointments may have violated the Trump administration's own ethics rules. However, figuring out if there were ethics violations is near impossible because the administration is secretly issuing waivers to the rules. One of the cases mentioned in the report relates to Michael Catanzaro, who serves as the top White House energy adviser. Until late 2016, he was working as a lobbyist for major industry clients such as Devon Energy of Oklahoma, an oil and gas company, and Talen Energy of Pennsylvania, a coal-burning electric utility. Chad Wolf is also examined. He spent years lobbying to secure funding for the Transportation Security Administration, and now is the agency's chief of staff. Other examples are in the Labor Department — two officials were K Street lobbyists fighting the Obama administration, and now are working on labor rules. The Times said that White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders turned down its requests to speak with Stefan Passantino, the White House ethics lawyer.
More ethics violations from the Trump swamp. The Trump administration publishes ethics rules for public consumption, and then issues secret waivers that protect 'conflict-of-interest' hires.
 
it has been drained and new huge, beautiful swamp was built in its place, bearing the name "Trump."

From henceforth, Washington shall be known as Swamp-A-Lago. :mrgreen:
 
As for just how many ethics waivers the White House has approved, no one seems to have any idea. Office of Government Ethics Director Walter Shaub told the Times, “There’s no transparency, and I have no idea how many waivers have been issued.”

Giving lobbyists expansive power, Trump tries filling the swamp
Trumps swamp is being filled with Goldman-Sachs brokers on assignment, high-power corporate lawyers, and former lobbyists with briefcases full of 'influence'.
 
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