Former Office of Government Ethics Director Walter Shaub is roasting President Donald Trumpâs White House for failing to comply with rules that he personally didnât follow on at least one occasion while serving in former President Barack Obamaâs administration.
Shaub wrote in an November op-ed for CNN that the Trump administration was not having outgoing White House aides file termination financial disclosure reports with Office of Government Ethics. Shaub notes former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, former White House Press secretary Sean Spicer and others in the piece, claiming various degrees of alleged dereliction of duties on the part of the Trump administration in handling their disclosure reports.
These reports are meant to signal to the public that the administration is following the law and gives insights into how an officialâs financials while serving in the White House
Obama appointed Shaub as the director of the United States Office of Government Ethics (OGE) from Jan. 2013 to July 2017. He oversaw a number of terminations, or exits, from the Obama administration, most notably in 2015 when former White House communications director Jennifer Palmieri left to run communication for former Secretary of State Hillary Clintonâs campaign.
Palmieri resigned in March 2015, but the OGE under Obama didnât get around to filing her termination financial disclosure until December 2015, according to Palmieriâs public financial disclosure report that The Daily Caller News Foundation obtained.
There is no indication or publicly reported information that show Shaub was outraged Palmieriâs financial disclosure report was not handled in a timely fashion.
Former Senior Adviser to Obama, David Axelrod, requested and received an extension to file his report after the OGE required 30-day window, according to documents TheDCNF obtained. Therefore, it was not uncommon for officials in the Obama admin to file for an extension, that raises questions as to why Palmieriâs report was not handled in a timely fashion or why she was not pressed to file for an extension.
Shaub also had a history of getting political during his tenure as head of an office that is supposed to be non-partisan.
Trumpâs decision to have his children take control of his business interests âmeaningless,â Shaub said earlier this year. The former Obama official also called for White House senior counselor Kellyanne Conway to receive disciplinary action for recommending during a live television interview that viewers purchase Ivanka Trumpâs products.
Source: The Daily Caller
