New Report Exposes Conflicts Of Interest In Trump’s Department Of Commerce
Photos: Wikimedia Commons WASHINGTON, D.C. — More than a quarter of senior officials in the Department of Commerce have substantial conflicts of interest, a new report from Public Citizen finds. In reviewing the financial disclosures for about 110 senior officials appointed by President Donald Trump to the Department of Commerce, the report identifies 30 appointees with significant conflicts of interest. Most notable is billionaire Howard Lutnick, who serves as the Secretary of Commerce and has donated millions of dollars to the Republican party and has had ties to more than 800 businesses. The report, “Corporate Capture at Commerce: How Industry Insiders Are Running the Department of Commerce,” also finds that the department’s top export control official has represented over 50 companies (as well as a foreign government) prior to taking over the bureau meant to regulate them. It underscores that there is a plethora of lobbyists, corporate executives, corporate lawyers, defense and tech industry staffers within the Department of Commerce who are posed to financially benefit from their appointments. “The Department of Commerce is meant to work in the interest of the people, not in the interest of a few select billionaires.” said Zach Everson, Research Director for Public Citizen’s Trump Accountability Project and co-author of the report. “More than one in four senior Commerce Department officials appointed by Trump have apparent conflicts of interest, whether that be due to financial ties to corporations, political parties, or even foreign governments. Political appointees within the Trump administration need to be subject to standards of ethical and financial conduct which prevent them from using their positions of power to skim off the top.” “The conflicts of interest identified in this report put Americans at risk,” added Douglas Pasternak, Research Director for Public Citizen’s Trump Accountability Project and co-author of the report. “It is unclear if these officials are serving the American public as their positions require or attempting to enrich their former employers or potential future employers, and ultimately themselves. The mission of these employees should be to prioritize the economic and commercial needs of America, its government, and its people. However, these seeming conflicts raise serious questions about whether these federal employees are beholden to the American people or to the interests of private for-profit corporations.”
Black News 
Photos: Wikimedia Commons
WASHINGTON, D.C. — More than a quarter of senior officials in the Department of Commerce have substantial conflicts of interest, a new report from Public Citizen finds. In reviewing the financial disclosures for about 110 senior officials appointed by President Donald Trump to the Department of Commerce, the report identifies 30 appointees with significant conflicts of interest. Most notable is billionaire Howard Lutnick, who serves as the Secretary of Commerce and has donated millions of dollars to the Republican party and has had ties to more than 800 businesses.
The report, “Corporate Capture at Commerce: How Industry Insiders Are Running the Department of Commerce,” also finds that the department’s top export control official has represented over 50 companies (as well as a foreign government) prior to taking over the bureau meant to regulate them. It underscores that there is a plethora of lobbyists, corporate executives, corporate lawyers, defense and tech industry staffers within the Department of Commerce who are posed to financially benefit from their appointments.
“The Department of Commerce is meant to work in the interest of the people, not in the interest of a few select billionaires.” said Zach Everson, Research Director for Public Citizen’s Trump Accountability Project and co-author of the report. “More than one in four senior Commerce Department officials appointed by Trump have apparent conflicts of interest, whether that be due to financial ties to corporations, political parties, or even foreign governments. Political appointees within the Trump administration need to be subject to standards of ethical and financial conduct which prevent them from using their positions of power to skim off the top.”
“The conflicts of interest identified in this report put Americans at risk,” added Douglas Pasternak, Research Director for Public Citizen’s Trump Accountability Project and co-author of the report. “It is unclear if these officials are serving the American public as their positions require or attempting to enrich their former employers or potential future employers, and ultimately themselves. The mission of these employees should be to prioritize the economic and commercial needs of America, its government, and its people. However, these seeming conflicts raise serious questions about whether these federal employees are beholden to the American people or to the interests of private for-profit corporations.”
