13 Jan 2017 5:11 pm
First they tried to defang the Congressional ethics watchdog, which didn't work out so well for them, and now they are going after the watchdog who oversees the Executive branch.
If ever there was a time when we needed the Office of Government Ethics, this is it, and they are threatening to shut it down.
The New York Times reports that in his letter Chaffetz noted that the House Oversight Committee has jurisdiction over the Office of Government Ethics, which was viewed as a suggestion that he might shut the office down.Chaffetz threatens to subpoena federal ethics watchdog over Trump criticism.
House Republicans have found a subject for their opening review of conflicts of interest under Donald Trump: the federal official in charge of investigating conflicts of interest.
Rep. Jason Chaffetz, the head of the House Oversight Committee, criticized the director of the federal Office of Government Ethics on Thursday over his criticism of Donald Trump’s plan to address conflicts of interest.
And he threatened to subpoena the official, Walter Shaub, if he refuses to participate in an official interview.
“He is coming in. This is not going to be an optional exercise,” Chaffetz said, adding that he expected a meeting within a few weeks.
If ever there was a time when we needed the Office of Government Ethics, this is it, and they are threatening to shut it down.