House Republicans are finally doing something about President-elect Trump’s conflicts of interest with the presidency: Going after the independent ethics office for commenting on them.
On Wednesday, President-elect Donald Trump announced his plan to maintain full ownership of his businesses. His lawyer stated Trump would place his companies in a “trust” to be managed by his sons.
He did not reveal even the most basic facts about how the trust would operate, although the companies will continue to pursue new deals domestically and accept payments from foreign governments.
More details were allegedly contained in stacks of folders Trump dramatically piled beside the lectern, but reporters were not permitted to examine their contents. Some suspect the pages were blank.
Trump’s “plan” falls well short of the recommendations of the nonpartisan Office of Government Ethics, which has repeatedly urged Trump to divest from his businesses and place his assets in a blind trust, which is the standard every other modern president has met. On Wednesday, OGE Directer Walter M. Shaub Jr. commented at the Brookings Institute on Trump’s plan.
“I think Politico called this a ‘half-blind’ trust, but it’s not even halfway blind,” said Shaub, explaining that Trump’s plan is contrary to the OGE’s advice and does little to actually prevent conflicts of interest.
“It’s important to understand that the President is now entering the world of public service. He’s going to be asking his own appointees to make sacrifices. He’s going to be asking our men and women in uniform to risk their lives in conflicts around the world. So, no, I don’t think divestiture is too high a price to pay to be President of the United States of America,” said Shaub.
House Oversight Committee Chair Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) then sent a letter to Shaub summoning him to Capitol Hill and accusing him of “blurring the line between public relations and official ethics guidance.”
In the letter, he also reminds Shaub that the House Oversight Committee has jurisdiction over his office — and that they’re “up for reauthorization” — which some interpreted as a threat to defund or close the office.
“OGE’s statutory authorization lapsed at the end of fiscal year 2007 and the Committee has jurisdiction in the House of Representatives for reauthorizing the office,” he writes.
On Fox News, Chaffetz characterized his request as completely routine.
“We want to talk to them because they’re up for reauthorization and the oversight committee has jurisdiction on that. We’ve been trying to talk to him. We invited him to come and just meet with us. He refuses to meet with Congress.”
It’s true that the OGE was last authorized in 2007. Since then, like much of the government, appropriations for the office have been provided for through continuing resolutions and budget reconciliations.
Shaub, however, has met with Congress regarding reauthorization — he came in voluntarily for a public hearing in 2015, which is a normal part of the process. There have been no indications that he is unwilling to come in for public hearings, despite Chaffetz’s allegations.
What Chaffetz is compelling Shaub to do, by contrast, is not routine. Instead of a public hearing, he is summoning Shaub for a closed-door “transcribed interview.” Chaffetz and House Republicans do not need to invite House Democrats to the meeting. They would also have complete control of the transcript of the interview afterwards, and could release portions of it selectively to the public.
Chaffetz threatened to subpoena Shaub “if we have to,” in an interview with Politico on Thursday.
Representative Elijah Cummings (D-MD), Ranking Member of House Oversight, accused Chaffetz of abandoning his duty as Oversight Chairman and attacking a nonpartisan ethics group for the sake of politics.
“The Oversight Committee has not held one hearing, conducted one interview, or obtained one document about President-elect Donald Trump’s massive global entanglements, yet it is now apparently rushing to launch an investigation of the key government official for warning against the risks caused by President-elect Donald Trump’s current plans,” Cummings said.
“The Oversight Committee is supposed to protect whistleblowers and independent government watchdogs like the Office of Government Ethics instead of retaliating against them for political reasons.”
Cummings has repeatedly called for Chaffetz to hold a public hearing on Trump’s conflicts of interest and his refusal to divest from his businesses, and called in his response for Chaffetz, as chairman, “to open this up to all of American and let the Director of OGE testify in public.”
Senate Minority leader Chuck Schumer agreed, noting this isn’t the first salvo this congress against independent ethics watchdogs.
“First, House Republicans tried to gut the Office of Congressional ethics. Now they’re trying to handcuff the Office of Government Ethics. Mr. Chaffetz’s attempt to bully Mr. Shaub out of doing his job are absolutely despicable.”