Is the Trump Admin breaking its own ethics rules?

[Chris0nllyn]

President Trump in January issued an order weakening Obama-era ethics policies, allowing lobbyists to work at agencies they had sought to influence. The Trump order did limit what lobbyists could do once they entered government, banning them from directly handling issues on which they had lobbied.

Consider Shahira Knight, President Trump’s special assistant for tax and retirement policy.

Lobbying disclosures show that Knight lobbied the government on a host of retirement and tax issues for financial services giant Fidelity.

The Trump executive order says former lobbyists like Knight cannot work in the “specific issue area” in which they lobbied, though that phrase is not defined.

Given that Knight lobbied on tax and retirement issues and is now working as Trump’s assistant on tax and retirement issues, how can she be in compliance with the ethics policy?

One possibility is that the Trump administration has issued waivers exempting Knight and the other lobbyists they’ve hired from the new rules.

Unfortunately, there’s no way for the public to know if this has been done. In a little-noticed action, Trump killed the Obama-era requirement that the Office of Government Ethics publish an annual report disclosing such waivers. Trump’s order also removed the requirement to provide a public interest justification for waivers.

The two other lobbyists hired this week, whose names were first flagged by The Intercept, are Michael Catanzaro and George David Banks. They, like Knight, were named to National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn’s senior staff.

Just a few months ago Catanzaro was lobbying on fuel standards and greenhouse gas regulations for the ​American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers. He is now special assistant to the president for domestic energy and environmental policy.

As for Banks, disclosure records state he recently lobbied on environmental issues for a business group. He is now special assistant to the president for international energy and environment.

His former employer, the American Council for Capital Formation, said in a statement that Banks “did not meet the legal threshold for registering with Congress as a lobbyist” and it is seeking to correct the filings.

That distinction matters because the Trump ethics policy applies only to officials who were registered lobbyists.

In January, Trump’s team cancelled a previously scheduled ethics and leadership training course for White House appointees, Politico reported. The White House Counsel’s office also gave a pass to Trump aide Kellyanne Conway for violating ethics rules by urging Americans to buy Ivanka Trump’s clothing line.

During the Obama administration, the White House posted copies of ethics waivers on its website. Obama issued a handful to former lobbyists during his eight years in office.

The current White House website still has a page for ethics waivers, but it is empty. It states: “Ethics pledge waivers will be published as they become available.”

https://www.propublica.org/article/how-the-trump-administration-may-be-skirting-its-own-ethics-rules

 

[SamSpade]

“When I’m president of the United States, if you want to work for my administration, you can’t leave my administration and then go lobby.” — Barack Obama, campaigning in Iowa in August 2007
“The revolving door — the pattern of people going from industry to agency, back to industry — that will be closed in the Obama White House.” — Obama, in Iowa in December 2007


​Not really seeing much of a difference.

 

[Hijinx]

https://www.propublica.org/article/how-the-trump-administration-may-be-skirting-its-own-ethics-rules

Stir up more BS there isn't enough out there already.

Every day more BS about Trump
Just can't let the guy go for a day.

 

[tommyjo]

Stir up more BS there isn't enough out there already.

Every day more BS about Trump
Just can't let the guy go for a day.

Hey dumbass....go back and find the day in the last 8 years that you let Mr. Obama "go for a day"...go on...go look...the world will wait.

Anyone who actually paid attention to how Mr. Trump ran his campaign...what he said during his campaign...and how he treated every person who dared disagree with him or dare correct his daily multitude of lies and inflammatory misstatements knows Mr. Trump has brought every bit of every relevant complaint upon himself.

Then...there are the people like yourself, VRAI and the rest of the blind right wing crew...who didn't LISTEN...didn't SEE and didn't bother to look in his past to see what a putz this guy was, is and always will be.

So...the hell with your whinny "give the guy a break". He earned it and so did the Rs because of their actions and the actions of supporters like you and the crew like you on here.

Mr. Trump is a buffoon...he proves it more everyday.

BTW...where is Mr. Trump again and where is your outrage??

 

[Hijinx]

Hey dumbass....go back and find the day in the last 8 years that you let Mr. Obama "go for a day"...go on...go look...the world will wait.

Anyone who actually paid attention to how Mr. Trump ran his campaign...what he said during his campaign...and how he treated every person who dared disagree with him or dare correct his daily multitude of lies and inflammatory misstatements knows Mr. Trump has brought every bit of every relevant complaint upon himself.

Then...there are the people like yourself, VRAI and the rest of the blind right wing crew...who didn't LISTEN...didn't SEE and didn't bother to look in his past to see what a putz this guy was, is and always will be.

So...the hell with your whinny "give the guy a break". He earned it and so did the Rs because of their actions and the actions of supporters like you and the crew like you on here.

Mr. Trump is a buffoon...he proves it more everyday.

BTW...where is Mr. Trump again and where is your outrage??

In your simple mind I am sure you mean what you say, as ignorant as it is.
Keep on doing it. The mid terms are coming and democrats are killing themselves. I love it.