Executive Ethics

Today, Common Cause and Public Citizen co-hosted a briefing on Capitol Hill in Washington – Trump’s Conflicts of Interest and the Americans Who Are Impacted By White House Ethics – with Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) serving as honorary co-host. The videotaped event focused on everyday Americans adversely impacted by the Trump Administration’s unprecedented conflicts of interest. President Trump’s conflicts of interest and excessive secrecy come at a cost and that cost is borne by the American People.

Remember when Donald Trump promised that during his presidency any profits his hotels gain through business with foreign governments would be donated to the U.S. Treasury? Apparently, he doesn’t.

The nation’s top intelligence officer is ducking questions this morning about whether President Trump asked him to declare publicly that there’s no evidence that the Trump for President campaign colluded with Russian agents attempting to disrupt last year’s U.S. election.

The White House move to block the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) from collecting waivers granted by Trump Administration nominees to work in fields where they recently lobbied is an outrage and part of a disturbing pattern. OGE was created in the wake of the Watergate scandal to monitor ethics compliance, but the Trump Administration is denying it the ability to do so. The OGE is charged with ensuring government compliance with ethical standards and it must be allowed to perform that duty.

The Trump administration is walling off more information from public scrutiny, telling the government’s internal ethics watchdog to stop asking for copies of ethics waivers the president has issued to former lobbyists now working for federal agencies.

The conduct of President Trump alleged in media reports appear to represent the commission of a felony by Donald Trump. If true, The New York Times report that President Trump asked FBI Director James Comey to end the agency’s investigation of Michael Flynn would constitute obstruction of justice which is an impeachable offense. The accusations must be fully investigated by an independent commission and a special prosecutor.