White House Waivers May Have Violated Ethics Rules; New York Times, June 1, 2017

Steve Eder and Eric Lipton, New York Times; White House Waivers May Have Violated Ethics Rules

"The Trump administration may have skirted federal ethics rules by retroactively granting a blanket exemption that allows Stephen K. Bannon, the senior White House strategist, to communicate with editors at Breitbart News, where he was recently an executive.

The exemption, made public late Wednesday along with more than a dozen other ethics waivers issued by the White House, allows all White House aides to communicate with news organizations, even if they involve a “former employer or former client.”"

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."

How the Trump Administration May Be Skirting Its Own Ethics Rules; ProPublica via Mother Jones, March 7, 2017

Justin Elliott, ProPublica via Mother Jones; 

How the Trump Administration May Be Skirting Its Own Ethics Rules

"There are multiple signs the Trump administration is not aggressively policing ethics issues beyond its handling of the rules on lobbyists. In January, Trump's team cancelled a previously scheduled ethics and leadership training course for White House appointees, Politico reported. The White House Counsel's office also gave a pass to Trump aide Kellyanne Conway for violating ethics rules by urging Americans to buy Ivanka Trump's clothing line.

During the Obama administration, the White House posted copies of ethics waivers on its website. Obama issued a handful to former lobbyists during his eight years in office.

The current White House website still has a page for ethics waivers, but it is empty. It states: "Ethics pledge waivers will be published as they become available.""