New Corruption Stories From the Last Day

Jonathan Chait
January 31, 2018 4:12 pm

.. Politico reported .. that Brenda Fitzgerald, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, purchased stock in Merck & Co., Bayer, Humana, and a tobacco company after taking her post last June. Politico quoted numerous ethics watchdogs expressing opposition to the conflicts of interest she took on by buying stock in firms affected by her work. Fitzgerald resigned today ...

... Washington Post reports that Health and Human Services Secretary Ben Carson’s son .. participated in his father’s work in ways that may have benefited his son’s businesses ... And sure enough, HUD staffers privately expressed concern that he was inviting clients or potential clients to HUD events and "gave the appearance that the Secretary may be using his position for his son’s private gain."

... Trump’s infrastructure council is filled with business owners who stand to benefit from the policies Trump is advancing ... Richard LeFrak, one of the developers on Trump’s council, has lobbied against flood-risk regulations that Trump has eliminated. The plan writ large would steer public funding toward privately owned infrastructure projects that would benefit the developers on Trump’s committee, as well as .. members of his .. family.

... Palm Beach Post reports .. Trump Realty is expanding its operations in southern Florida. The ongoing business by Trump’s business empire is a massive corruption risk, as Trump and his family can benefit from the publicity conferred by his public office, and stand to benefit by anybody who wants to curry favor throwing business their way ... One of Trump Realty’s agents tells the Post that she "is confident the recent tax law will further spur relocations from high-tax states in the Northeast to South Florida." This was ... a casual boast by the business’s manager to a journalist ...

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/01/4-new-trump-corruption-stories-from-the-last-day-alone.html