Commerce Secretary-designate Howard Lutnick “detailed his wealth and influence across hundreds of firms and left open the possibility of his adult children buying his holdings if he wins confirmation,” Bloomberg reports.
“Documents released by the US Office of Government Ethics also show roles in at least 800 legal entities.”
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “is keeping his financial stake in major litigation against Merck over a widely used vaccine given to young people,” the New York Times reports.
“That conflict of interest could raise questions for lawmakers as Mr. Kennedy aims to run agencies that regulate the drug maker.”
“Questions surrounding a newly reelected Democratic lawmaker deepened in recent weeks as Florida moved to sue the company she once led in an attempt to recoup a more than $5 million covid overpayment,” the Washington Post reports.
“The Office of Congressional Ethics, the House’s internal watchdog, referred Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL) to the House Ethics Committee for further investigation in September 2023 after finding ‘substantial reason’ to believe that she may have violated campaign finance rules.”
“Scott Bessent, the billionaire hedge fund manager whom President-elect Donald Trump picked to be his Treasury secretary, plans to divest from dozens of funds, trusts and investments in preparation to become the nation’s top economic policymaker,” the New York Times reports.
“Those plans were released on Saturday along with the publication of an ethics agreement and financial disclosures that Mr. Bessent submitted ahead of his Senate confirmation hearing next Thursday.”
“The documents show the extent of the wealth of Mr. Bessent, whose assets and investments appear to be worth in excess of $700 million. Mr. Bessent was formerly the top investor for the billionaire liberal philanthropist George Soros and has been a major Republican donor and adviser to Mr. Trump.”
“President-elect Donald Trump won’t be involved in the day-to-day management of the Trump Organization once he takes office and the company won’t enter into new contracts with foreign governments during his presidency, according to an ethics plan set to be released by the company on Friday,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The plan is silent on whether the Trump Organization will enter into additional foreign deals with private companies—and Eric Trump has already signaled his intentions to keep growing the business.”
“The U.S. House Ethics Committee on Monday closed its investigations into allegations that Reps. Ronny Jackson and Wesley Hunt misused campaign funds, clearing the Texas Republicans of wrongdoing,” the Dallas Morning News reports.
Former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) on Monday filed a lawsuit against the House Ethics Committee in a last-minute attempt to block the panel from releasing its report on the Florida Republican, The Hill reports.
Former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) was found by congressional ethics investigators to have paid numerous women — including a 17-year-old girl — for sex, and to have purchased and used illegal drugs, including from his Capitol Hill office, according to a final draft of a comprehensive investigative report obtained by CBS News.
From the report: “The Committee determined there is substantial evidence that Representative Gaetz violated House Rules and other standards of conduct prohibiting prostitution, statutory rape, illicit drug use, impermissible gifts, special favors or privileges, and obstruction of Congress.”
More: “The record overwhelmingly suggests that Representative Gaetz had sex with multiple women at a 2017 Florida party, including the then-17-year-old, for which they were paid… Victim A recalled receiving $400 in cash from Representative Gaetz that evening, which she understood to be payment for sex. At the time, she had just completed her junior year of high school. Victim A said that she did not inform Representative Gaetz that she was under 18 at the time, nor did he ask her age.”
A source told CBS News the House Ethics Committee is expected to release its report on former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) on Monday.
Meanwhile, Gaetz floated the prospect of running for senator or governor of Florida — or landing a special counsel spot to go after his former colleagues in Congress.
“Justice Clarence Thomas failed to disclose two additional trips from a billionaire patron that had not previously come to light, Senate Democrats revealed on Saturday after conducting a 20-month investigation into ethics practices at the Supreme Court,” the New York Times reports.
“Former Rep. Matt Gaetz, the focus of a House Ethics Committee report that may soon become public, is planning to inflict fresh pain on some of his old colleagues,” Politico reports.
“Gaetz this week floated a plan that would force the disclosure of House members who were the subject of sexual harassment settlements paid with public funds. The effort is inching toward reality, with GOP lawmakers passing around a resolution that would execute the effort.”
“The House Ethics Committee secretly voted this month to release an investigative report into the conduct of former Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida,” the New York Times reports.
“It is an abrupt turnabout for the panel, which had previously declined to release the report. It came less than two weeks after House Republicans banded together to block a Democratic move on the floor to force the release of the report, instead returning the matter to the Ethics Committee for further consideration.”
“President Joe Biden lent his voice to growing bipartisan calls on the Hill to end stock trading for congressional members on Tuesday,” ABC News reports.
Said Biden: “I don’t know how you look your constituents in the eye and know because of the job they gave you, gave you an inside track to make more money. I think we should be changing the law.”
“President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to be the top health insurance regulator in the country, Dr. Mehmet Oz, has invested in companies that do business with the agency he would run,” USA Today reports.
“Oz, Trump’s choice to run Medicare, Medicaid and the insurance marketplace under the Affordable Care Act, owned up to $33.7 million stock in these companies when he filed a financial disclosure during his unsuccessful 2022 campaign for Senate in Pennsylvania.”
The Guardian looks at Elon Musk’s major conflicts of interest with the federal government.
“Musk owns, directs or invests in a wide array of industries, touching dozens of departments and agencies of the federal government, from the Department of Transportation with Tesla, to the Department of Defense with SpaceX, to the Department of Health and Human Services with Neuralink.”
“His companies are the subject of federal investigations and regulatory actions, including accusations of hiring discrimination, environmental damage and safety deficiencies.”
Politico: “Trump has appointed a raft of rich business people and investors — including several billionaires and multiple Wall Street executives with complex financial interests — to fill out top roles in his administration, raising a vast array of potential conflicts of interest that could span the federal government and complicate Senate confirmations.”
Rep. Sean Casten (D-IL) “introduced an updated privileged resolution to try to force the bipartisan House Ethics Committee to release its investigative report on former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), who was President-elect Donald Trump’s selection as attorney general,” ABC News reports.
Politico: “House leaders will have two legislative days to schedule a vote, which would only be successful if Casten gets a majority of the House to approve it.”
“President-elect Trump is entering office with a wider array of investments and potential conflicts of interest than was seen during his first term, setting the stage for greater scrutiny of his dealings,” The Hill reports.
“Trump generally has the same empire of hotels and real estate holdings from the first term that sparked criticism that foreign governments could seek to influence him through his business ties.”
“But since leaving office, Trump has augmented his business ventures, launching a social media platform that stands to benefit from his return to the White House while getting involved in cryptocurrency and signing new deals across the globe.”
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.