Trump's White House grants ethics waivers that give exemptions to Kellyanne Conway, Steve Bannon, and ex-lobbyists
Allan Smith
2h President Donald Trump granted ethics waivers to at least 16 White House staffers to allow them to work with subjects they had in the private sector before joining the government, according to records released by the administration on Wednesday.
The records were released after a public battle with the Office of Government Ethics, which pushed the White House to provide documentation of the waivers it was granting. The data showed that the Trump administration had granted five times as many ethics waivers to employees during its first four months than President Barack Obama's White House did over the same timeframe.
Some of those who received waivers included high-profile staffers such as Kellyanne Conway, the White House counselor, and Reince Priebus, Trump's chief of staff. Conway was granted an exemption to "participate in communications and meetings involving former clients which are political, advocacy, trade, or non-profit organizations" for her polling firm, The Polling Company. Priebus' exemption allowed him to "participate in communications and meetings" that involve the Republican National Committee, which he ran before joining the White House.
A blanket exemption provided to all Executive Office of the President appointees appeared to cover chief strategist Steve Bannon. The exemption allows all appointees to "participate in communications and meetings with news organizations regarding broad policy matters." Before joining the White House, Bannon led Breitbart, the ultra-nationalist right-wing news site, and his level of involvement with the site after joining the administration has been the subject of some debate.
"Bannon and Breitbart's public posture has been that Bannon has no influence over their coverage and that he only reaches out 'every so often,'" Kurt Bardella, a former spokesman for Breitbart, said in an email. "If that's really the truth — then why the ethics waiver?"
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http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-ethics-waivers-kellyanne-conway-steve-bannon-lobbyists-2017-6
