Secretary David Bernhardt, a former oil lobbyist, previously recused himself from all decisions involving his former firm’s clients.
Interior Secretary David Bernhardt’s ethics recusal will expire on Saturday. The ethics pledge banned Bernhardt from decisions involving his former firm’s clients for two years.
Bernhardt was also not able to meet with these companies, unless five or more other stakeholders were present and nothing relating specifically to the companies was discussed.
A bombshell report dropped late Thursday from the Washington Postshowing just how much money Trump has pocketed from taxpayers by encouraging government agencies to use his properties for official government events — a practice his own ethics officials know is wrong but have been powerless to stop.
Trump earned at least $1.6 million from both the federal government and Republican campaigns which have used his properties. And the Post cautioned that the actual number is likely much, much higher, given that the numbers they crunched were only from the first half of 2017 when Trump first took office. Since then, Trump, GOP lawmakers, and administration officials have made many more stops at his properties.
In fact, GOP fundraisers admit that’s why they hold fundraisers at Trump hotels — it increases the chances Trump might show up.
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos shakes hands with President Donald Trump during a White House meeting, February 2017. Credit: Saul Loeb via Getty Images
Over the past year, the family of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has been quietly funding far-right Republican politicians. This CAP Action Fund analysis shows that the DeVos family has poured more than $2 million in donations into Republican coffers over the past 12 months—despite Secretary DeVos’ clear pledge not to make political contributions.
Even by the loose standards of U.S. campaign finance laws—and President Donald Trump’s blatant corruption—the donations by the family members of a Cabinet official have been brazen. In February 2018, Richard DeVos, Secretary DeVos’ father-in-law, gave $1 million to the Freedom Partners Action Fund—a political action fund that has long been associated with far-right causes. Over the past year, the DeVos family has also given $350,000 to the Republican Congressional Leadership Fund and another $400,000 to the Republican National Committee.
The DeVoses have also donated to specific candidates for federal and state office. (see Methodology) Wisconsin’s far-right firebrand, Gov. Scott Walker (R), for example, has received more than $635,000 over the past decade from the DeVos family—including $30,000 in 2018. Bill Schuette, Michigan’s Republican attorney general who is running for governor, received almost $40,000 over the past year.
NOTE: We are aware that former EPA head Scott Pruitt has resigned, but we believe it’s important to provide documentation of the Trump administration’s actions.
Credit: Kaster, AP Photo
The following article by Juliet Eilperin and Brady Dennis was posted on the Washington Post website June 25, 2018:
The following article by Will Drabold was in Mic.com’s Navigating Trump’s America email:
Credit: Gary Cameron/Reuters
President Donald Trump’s financial conflicts of interest are well-documented. His companies have seen multimillion-dollar increases in business since he took office, foreign governments and major corporations curry favor by holding events at Trump properties and Trump International Hotel Washington, D.C., leases space from the federal government.
The Cabinet also faces serious questions about their ethics. The resignation of Brenda Fitzgerald, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director, on Wednesday for investing in tobacco companies while leading America’s anti-smoking efforts reminds us of these issues of transparency and financial motives, government watchdogs told Mic.
Secretary David Bernhardt, a former oil lobbyist, previously recused himself from all decisions involving his former firm’s clients.
A bombshell 
