By Jennifer Steinhauer and Steve Eder:
The battle comes as the incoming Trump administration, stocked with billionaires and multimillionaires from the president-elect on down, presents complicated questions about conflicts of interest. The office is already under assault from Republicans over its pace in vetting Mr. Trump’s nominees, and the new clash could bring the process to a near halt.
Mr. Shaub, a longtime government lawyer who has led the Office of Government Ethics since 2013, has been accused by Representative Jason Chaffetz of Utah, the Republican chairman of the House Oversight Committee, of playing politics and letting “public relations” seep into the office’s ethical guidance. Mr. Chaffetz requested that Mr. Shaub be interviewed by committee staff members by the end of the month.
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The scrutiny of the ethics agency is the latest deviation from a generation of standard practices as the new administration prepares to take over. The tone has been largely set by Mr. Trump, who, unlike a long list of past presidents, has declined to release his tax returns.
The Full Story (January 13, 2017)
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