Schumer Blasts Chaffetz For Trying To 'Bully' Ethics Chief Over Trump Conflicts
Source: Talking Points Memo
By CAITLIN MACNEAL Published JANUARY 13, 2017, 9:48 AM EDT
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) on Friday morning slammed Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), the chair of the House Oversight Committee, over his letter demanding that the director of the Office of Government Ethics sit for an interview with the committee.
"The Republicans are at it again, filling the swamp instead of draining it. First, House Republicans tried to gut the Office of Congressional ethics. Now they're trying to handcuff the Office of Government ethics. Mr. Chaffetz's attempt to bully Mr. Shaub out of doing his job are absolutely despicable," Schumer said in a statement.
Chaffetz sent a letter to Walter Shaub Jr., the director of the Office of Government Ethics, on Thursday criticizing the ethics' office November tweets about Donald Trump's plans for avoiding conflicts of interest.
Schumer defended Shaub and scolded Republicans for going after the Office of Government Ethics. "During his service, which began under Bush and continued under both political parties, Mr. Shaub and the Office of Government ethics have worked diligently and in a nonpartisan way to ensure that the individuals working in our government are serving the American people, not their own bottom line. Few have tried to drain the swamp more than Mr. Shaub, and he did it equally well under Democratic and Republican administrations," Schumer said.
Read more: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/schumer-chaffetz-ethics-office-letter
= new reply since forum marked as read
