Warren, Markey Send Letter to White House Demanding Clarity on Bannon’s Compliance With Ethics Laws

Tuesday, June 20, 2017

GoLocalWorcester Political Team

Steve Bannon

Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey sent a letter to Designated Agency Ethics Official Stefan Passantino demanding clarification on White House senior advisor Steve Bannon’s compliance with federal ethics laws.

They were joined in the letter Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii).

Read the Letter Here

"Earlier this month, we received new information from the Office of Government Ethics indicating that Steven Bannon may have violated President Trump's Executive Order on Ethics and other ethics rules via his communications with Breitbart News Network, and that the ethics waivers provided to Mr. Bannon and others may not appropriately address these matters. ”Based on this new information, we are writing to you - again - to seek clarification on and understand Mr. Bannon's compliance with Executive Order 13770,” the senators wrote in their letter.

The Letter

The senators initially wrote to Passantino back in April, after media reports that Bannon had discussions with his former employer Breitbart News, potentially violating the Ethics Pledge outlined in Executive Order 13770.

That request, along with a similar inquiry sent directly to Bannon, was not answered. The senators then asked the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) to provide information on the federal ethics requirements that applied to Bannon's communications with Breitbart.

OGE's response outlined Bannon's ethics obligations, and described a retroactive waiver issued by the White House in May, allowing Bannon and other Executive Office appointees to communicate in some cases with news organizations, as "problematic" and "inconsistent with the very concept of a waiver." It also made clear that the May 31 waiver was "limited," and that Bannon was still barred from communicating with Breitbart regarding "particular matters involving specific parties," indicating that Bannon may still be in violation of Executive Order 13770.

The senators asked Passantino to provide additional information about the White House waiver, as well as Bannon's prior communications with Breitbart and any recusals he may have made to avoid any conflicts of interest involving his former employer.