The Trump administration's corruption train rolls on: Zinke, Wilbur Ross....

The Trump administration’s corruption train rolls on

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2018/06/22/the-trump-administrations-corruption-train-rolls-on/?utm_term=.8063a8d8e1f7


by Helaine Olen June 22 at 12:46 PM

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke on Capitol Hill on May 10. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)

At least once a week, a member of the Trump administration demonstrates in an entertaining way that public service can be a great way to make a buck. This week’s installment is a double feature, starring Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.

First up: Politico reported on business dealings involving Zinke, his wife, their foundation and a Montana business development pushed by a group founded by David Lesar, chairman of energy group Halliburton.

Yes, Halliburton, one of the world’s biggest oil field services firms and a company that, needless to say, does quite a bit of business with the U.S. government, including the Interior Department, on matters related to such matters as fracking and oil field worker safety. That would seem to indicate that maybe Zinke going into business with Lesar isn’t the best idea? But this is the Trump administration, where conflicts of interest are to be imitated, not eliminated.

Lesar’s company wants to develop a former industrial site in Zinke’s home town of Whitefish, Mont., into a retail and entertainment space, with shops, a hotel and a brewery. Zinke’s family foundation, now run by his wife, Lola, has “pledged in writing” to permit the company to put in a parking lot on land donated to the foundation. Never mind the fact that land was donated in 2008 to create a park that would honor veterans. (Zinke says he resigned his position with his family foundation early last year, but he continued to be listed as an officer in filings with the state of Montana government until journalists began asking questions this week.) As Politico reports, the Zinke family owns land that’s contiguous to the proposed development — land that would likely increase in value because of all the new business. “Deceitful,” proclaimed the Vet Voice Foundation...............................................




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