The Biden administration is without a confirmed ethics czar; Government Executive, July 18, 2023

Eric Katz, Government Executive; The Biden administration is without a confirmed ethics czar

"The lack of a confirmed director should not hinder the Office of Government Ethics' daily operations, but Biden would be smart to pick a new permanent leader soon to signal he is serious about ethics, former agency officials said. 

Emory Rounds, a President Trump appointee whose term carried over into Biden’s tenure, stepped down July 12 when his term expired. Shelley Finlayson, chief of staff and program counsel at the ethics agency, will fill in on an acting basis. 

The agency is responsible for overseeing the ethics plans at each executive branch department and collecting and approving disclosure documents from the federal officials who are required to submit them. It occasionally issues new ethics regulations to update policies and provides guidance and reminders to employees across government."

Walter Shaub Wants You To Fight For An Ethical Democracy; WBUR On Point, February 18, 2020

WBUR, On Point;

Walter Shaub Wants You To Fight For An Ethical Democracy

"For decades, Walter Shaub advised presidential candidates about transparency, ethics and how to avoid conflicts of interest. We talk to Shaub about how he ran the Office of Government Ethics and the future of ethics in government."

Government Ethics Officials Raise Red Flags On EPA Chief Scott Pruitt; NPR, April 10, 2018

Domenico Montanaro, NPR; Government Ethics Officials Raise Red Flags On EPA Chief Scott Pruitt

"The Office of Government Ethics on Monday issued a strongly worded letter (full letter at the bottom of this post) that lays out its case for why ethics matter.

"Public trust demands that all employees act in the public's interest, and free from any actual or perceived conflicts when fulfilling governmental responsibilities entrusted to them," writes David Apol, acting director and general counsel of the office.

What's more, Apol points out, Pruitt is not just any "employee" who has to be held to this standard.

"Agency heads in particular bear a heightened responsibility," he notes. That's because, according to the Code of Federal Regulations, agency heads are literally "required to 'exercise personal leadership in ... establishing and maintaining an effective agency ethics program and fostering an ethical culture in the agency.'"

Not only that, but the statute lays out the expectation that agency heads "enforce" ethics rules in their agencies and consider them in "evaluating the performance of senior executives.""

Trump stunned ethics experts with his surprising, 'excellent choice' to lead the government office that's been a huge thorn in his side; Business Insider, February 8, 2018

Allan Smith, Business Insider; Trump stunned ethics experts with his surprising, 'excellent choice' to lead the government office that's been a huge thorn in his side

"Ethics experts were over the moon with President Donald Trump's selection to lead the Office of Government Ethics, Emory Rounds.

That includes two high-profile ethicists who have been among the most prominent critics of Trump: Walter Shaub, the former head of OGE who resigned before completing his term, and Richard Painter, top ethics lawyer for President George W. Bush who has repeatedly clashed with the White House."

CDC Director’s Investment in Tobacco, Drug Companies Baffles Ethics Experts; Scientific American, February 1, 2018

Helen Branswell, Scientific American; CDC Director’s Investment in Tobacco, Drug Companies Baffles Ethics Experts

"“The problem with Brenda Fitzgerald is like many in the Trump administration, she was very negligent at submitting her personal financial disclosure to the Office of Government Ethics and finally worked out an ethics agreement with OGE very late in her term,” Holman said.

“So without that sort of ethics guidance from the Office of Government Ethics, and no ethics agreement signed, Fitzgerald just operated as if she were a regular citizen, trading and buying in stocks that pose a direct conflict of interest for her role as CDC director,” he said.

Holman and Giordano seemed genuinely flummoxed that Fitzgerald would buy shares in companies that might present a conflict of interest while serving as CDC director.

“That really represents, I think, a failure of an ethical compass,” Giordano said. “It is a question of credibility. And it is a question of responsible leadership.”"

Trump risks US being seen as 'kleptocracy', says ex-ethics chief Walter Shaub; Guardian, July 31, 2017

David Smith, Guardian; Trump risks US being seen as 'kleptocracy', says ex-ethics chief Walter Shaub

"The former head of the US government ethics watchdog has warned that Donald Trump’s conflicts of interest put the country at risk of being seen as a “kleptocracy”.

Speaking to the Guardian, Walter Shaub, who quit this month as director of the Office of Government Ethics (OGE), condemned the president for using his hotels and other properties for government business in what is in effect a free advertising campaign.

“His actions create the appearance of profiting from the presidency, and the appearance here is everything because the demand I’m making is so much more than ‘have a clean heart’. It’s ‘Have a clean heart and act appropriately,’” Shaub said.

“The fact that we’re having to ask questions about whether he’s intentionally using the presidency for profit is bad enough because the appearance itself undermines confidence in government.”

He added: “It certainly risks people starting to refer to us as a kleptocracy. That’s a term people throw around fairly freely when they’re talking about Russia, fairly or unfairly, and we run the risk of getting branded the same way. America really should stand for more than that.”"

Former Ethics Director Says Trump Is Causing A 'Crisis;' Calls For Reforms; NPR, July 28, 2017

Mollie Simon, NPR; Former Ethics Director Says Trump Is Causing A 'Crisis;' Calls For Reforms

"Shaub also wants to amend the Ethics in Government Act to prohibit officials from receiving compensation for the use of their names and their family names while in office — a matter particularly relevant to the Trumps, who hold extensive trademarks and make money from placing their name on properties, such as hotels.

Shaub said the changes he proposes transcend partisan politics.

"Both major political parties have always been incredibly supportive of the government ethics program and neither can claim sole credit for having built it," Shaub said.

He has already found support for his efforts from Republicans, including Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Rep. Trey Gowdy of South Carolina.

If OGE is not strengthened, Shaub said, Americans risk long-standing ethical norms changing, for the worse.

"Norms are the glue that hold society together," he said.""

Trump wants to defang ethics oversight, former ethics chief Walter Shaub says; USA Today, July 25, 2017

Susan Page, USA Today; Trump wants to defang ethics oversight, former ethics chief Walter Shaub says

"[Walter M. Shaub Jr.] told USA TODAY's video newsmaker series that the White House deliberately had leapfrogged over the agency's second-ranking official, chief of staff Shelley Finlayson, in favor of appointing general counsel David Apol as acting director.

"He may fulfill a lifelong ambition of loosening up the ethics program," Shaub said of Apol, saying the two men had disagreed on a series of conflict-of-interest and other questions. He said White House officials had described their relationship with Apol as "cordial."

"You don't want a cordial watchdog," he said. "You want a vigorous watchdog.""

Walter Shaub: How to Restore Government Ethics in the Trump Era; New York Times, July 18, 2017

Walter M. Shaub Jr., New York Times; Walter Shaub: How to Restore Government Ethics in the Trump Era

"The Office of Government Ethics needs greater authority to obtain information from the executive branch, including the White House. The White House and agencies lacking inspectors general need investigative oversight, which should be coordinated with O.G.E. The ethics office needs more independence, including authority to communicate directly with Congress on budgetary and legislative matters. Because we can no longer rely on presidents to comply voluntarily with ethical norms, we need new laws to address their conflicts of interest, their receipt of compensation for the use of their names while in office, nepotism and the release of tax forms. Transparency should be increased through laws mandating creation and release of documents related to divestitures, recusals, waivers and training. Disclosure requirements can be refined and the revolving door tightened. These changes would give O.G.E. the tools it needs to address the current challenges and, perhaps more importantly, reinforce for presidents the importance of setting a strong ethical tone from the top."

Exiting Ethics Chief Walter Shaub Calls Trump White House 'A Disappointment'; NPR, July 7, 2017

Peter Overby, NPR; Exiting Ethics Chief Walter Shaub Calls Trump White House 'A Disappointment'

"Walter Shaub Jr., outgoing director of the Office of Government Ethics, says there's a new normal for ethics in the Trump administration.

"Even when we're not talking strictly about violations, we're talking about abandoning the norms and ethical traditions of the executive branch that have made our ethics program the gold standard in the world until now," Shaub told All Things Considered host Robert Siegel...

Defenders of federal ethics standards say OGE, and the ethics laws themselves, may be at a turning point.

"Previous administrations have sort of cared a lot about trying to do something about a violation of those conflicts of interest standards, and we have an administration now that honestly doesn't care," said Danielle Brian, executive director of the nonprofit Project on Government Oversight, or POGO."

Surprise Us, Mr. Trump: Name an Ethics Watchdog With Teeth; New York Times, July 7, 2017

Editorial Board, New York Times; Surprise Us, Mr. Trump: Name an Ethics Watchdog With Teeth

"Walter Shaub Jr. announced his resignation as director of the Office of Government Ethics on Thursday, plunging the federal government’s top ethics watchdog agency into limbo. President Trump now has the chance to appoint an accommodating loyalist who’d give him far less trouble than Mr. Shaub has. Or he could surprise us, and name another independent director committed to the ethical rules of public service. The president’s past behavior doesn’t offer much hope, but it would be in his long-term interest to choose a director with integrity.

The 70-person O.G.E. works with some 4,500 executive branch ethics officials whose goal is preventing conflicts of interest among 2.5 million civilian federal employees. The energy, commitment and character of the person at the top is crucial to the office’s success, not least because it has no real enforcement power. Its influence derives from a mix of financial disclosure rules, public pressure and, ideally, White House support for its mission of ensuring that civil servants act on the behalf of Americans, not themselves."

Walter Shaub’s Brave, Quixotic Ethics Battle with Trump; New Yorker, July 7, 2017

Sheelah Kolhatkar, New Yorker; Walter Shaub’s Brave, Quixotic Ethics Battle with Trump

"After leaving his post at the O.G.E., Shaub will join the Campaign Legal Center, a nonpartisan organization based in Washington, D.C., as the director of its ethics program. According to Lawrence Noble, the Center’s general counsel, Shaub learned about the job opening only recently. “When the opportunity came for us to hire Walt, we couldn’t pass it up,” Noble said. He added that, to the best of his knowledge, Shaub “was under no outside pressure” to leave the O.G.E. before his term ended, and Shaub told the Washington Post much the same.

In his new role, Shaub will be helping the Center to expand its ethics program, strengthen its watchdog role, and help design potential fortifications to the ethics rules, which have been “stress-tested” under President Trump, as Noble put it. He added that Trump had exposed many weaknesses in ethics laws. With Shaub’s help, his organization will be looking at ways to strengthen and update conflict-of-interest rules for the President specifically, as well as ways to potentially give more power to the O.G.E., which, currently, can only offer advice and suggestions and has no enforcement role."

Government Ethics Chief Resigns, Casting Uncertainty Over Agency; New York Times, July 6, 2017

Nicholas Fandos, New York Times; Government Ethics Chief Resigns, Casting Uncertainty Over Agency

"“I don’t think anyone who comes after Walter is going to challenge the White House publicly the way that I think he did,” said Richard W. Painter, who served as ethics counsel for the George W. Bush White House. “It is a great loss.”

Mr. Painter said the administration would do itself a favor by naming a successor with experience in ethics law and a reputation for independence.

A permanent replacement for Mr. Shaub would require confirmation in the Senate, where Democrats would probably use confirmation hearings to raise grievances about what they see as Mr. Trump’s potential conflicts of interest, and Republicans are unlikely to act as a rubber stamp."

White House Backs Down on Keeping Ethics Waivers Secret; New York Times, May 26, 2017

Eric Lipton, New York Times; 

White House Backs Down on Keeping Ethics Waivers Secret

"“It’s a victory for checks and balances, the rule of law and the independent oversight of the Office of Government Ethics, and the news media,” Mr. Eisen said. ”With any bully, when you punch them in the nose, they back down.”...

Former senior officials with the Office of Government Ethics said that in the 39-year history of the agency, which was created in the aftermath of the Watergate scandal, they could not remember an instance in which the White House had similarly tried to block, or even to discourage, an effort to collect ethics compliance data."

Former Bush Ethics Lawyer Files Complaint Against FBI Director for Email Disclosures; Slate, 10/30/16

Daniel Politi, Slate; Former Bush Ethics Lawyer Files Complaint Against FBI Director for Email Disclosures:

"The former chief ethics lawyer at the White House during George W. Bush’s presidency has filed an ethics complaint against FBI Director James Comey. In an op-ed published in the New York Times on Sunday, Richard W. Painter writes that he filed a complaint against the FBI for violating the Hatch Act, "which bars the use of an official position to influence an election." He filed the complaint with both the Office of Special Counsel and the Office of Government Ethics.

Painter, who was the head White House ethics lawyer between 2005 and 2007 and now supports Hillary Clinton, says Comey violated the Hatch Act when he sent the letter to lawmakers on Friday informing them of the newly discovered emails."

The Clintons’ ethics test: Government watchdogs weigh in on the Clinton Foundation’s latest maneuvers; Salon, 8/23/16

Simon Maloy, Salon; The Clintons’ ethics test: Government watchdogs weigh in on the Clinton Foundation’s latest maneuvers:

"What has to happen, given that history, is that a Clinton administration’s dealings with people and entities linked to the Clinton Foundation would have to be handled with a high level of transparency. Per Holman, the Office of Government Ethics “could easily run through the donor lists to the foundation, identify the potential conflicts of interests of any administration actions and require, or ask for, full disclosure of the process.” POGO’s Amey noted that there are existing safeguards protecting against ethical breaches by government officials – recusal processes, mandatory divestments, etc – and those will have to be enforced to the highest degree. “We need to make sure that we go as far as we can with those initiatives,” says Amey, “to make sure that the White House is as clean as possible.”

So while it’s certainly welcome that the Clintons have taken steps to safeguard against further conflicts of interest through the Clinton Foundation, there’s still quite a backlog of donor history that can still cause them ethical trouble (to say nothing of the fact that the foundation will apparently continue taking foreign money up to the point that Hillary wins election). How much political damage they absorb from that will be determined largely by how transparent a future Clinton administration is willing to be."