Ethics office under fire for Clinton speeches
By Sarah Westwood • 12/29/15 11:28 AM
Government ethics officials have yet to respond to a congressional request for documents about Hillary Clinton's paid speeches.
Rep. Jason Chaffetz pressed the Office of Government Ethics last week for an explanation of its decision to exempt Clinton from laws compelling public officials to disclose all forms of income.
"Earlier this year, press reports indicated that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her husband failed to disclose millions of dollars in paid speeches over the past thirteen years under the belief they did not have a duty to report that because the speeches were delivered on behalf of the Clinton Foundation, and not in the Secretary's or the President's personal capacity," Chaffetz wrote.
The Utah Republican cited "at least five speeches" for which Clinton routed her speaking fee to the philanthropy between 2014 and 2015. She did not list that income on her disclosure form as the law typically requires.
The ethics office's spokesman, Vincent Salamone, had issued a statement in May arguing public officials did not need to disclose payments if they are made directly to an organization, as was the case with the Clinton Foundation speaking fees.
However, Walter Shaub, director of the Office of Government Ethics, struggled to explain the statute behind Salamone's assertion during a hearing Dec. 16, simply arguing it was a "very long, very detailed" rule.
Pressed later in the hearing to cite the exact statute, Shaub pointed to a rule that actually outlined requirements for officials to report income paid to a charity.
Chaffetz asked the ethics office to hand over all documents related to its discussions with the Clinton Foundation and both Clintons about speech fee disclosures made since Dec. 2008, when Clinton struck a deal with the White House just before becoming secretary of state.
That deal imposed stricter reporting requirements on Bill Clinton and the family's foundation given Hillary Clinton's impending position as the nation's chief diplomat.
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/govt-ethics-office-under-fire-for-hillary-clinton-speeches/article/2579221
