WASHINGTON — Democrats in Congress raised ethical concerns on Tuesday about connections between Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and a billionaire Republican donor who stands to benefit financially from the Trump administration’s decision to lift sanctions on the Russian oligarch Oleg V. Deripaska’s companies.
In a letter to Mr. Mnuchin, two senior Democratic lawmakers said the Treasury secretary’s connection to an entertainment business owned in part by the donor, Len Blavatnik, a major investor in Mr. Deripaska’s giant aluminum company, Rusal, was a potential conflict of interest.
“We are seeking an explanation as to how you managed your own potential conflicts of interest arising from your personal and professional relationships with major Rusal shareholder Len Blavatnik, a key beneficiary from your decision to delist Rusal,” the lawmakers, Representative Elijah E. Cummings of Maryland, the chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, and Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, said in the letter.
View the complete January 29 article by Kenneth P. Vogel on The New York Times website here.