Evidence shows Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm violated federal conflict-of-interest and transparency laws
The non-partisan ethics watchdog, The Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT), recently requested the Inspector General immediately investigate Secretary Granholm for improperly reporting up to $250,000 in stock transactions. Meanwhile neither Secretary Granholm nor the Office of Government Ethics have been transparent about Granholm’s clear-cut violations.
Under federal law, government officials must disclose their financial information. More specifically, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 101-11: Executive Branch Secretaries must file an annual financial disclosure report that provides a "full and complete" statement of their assets, debts, and income. In addition to the annual report, Secretaries must file a periodic report to disclose any financial transaction that exceeds $1,000 within 30 to 45 days of the transaction.
Contrary to this law, Secretary Granholm made nine stock transactions between April 30 and October 26, 2021, but she did not publicly disclose these transactions until December 15 and 16, 2021 – weeks or months past the 30-day deadline required by federal law. Secretary Granholm’s investment transactions included shares of the biopharmaceutical firm Gilead Sciences Inc. (a large government contractor and maker of COVID-19 treatment Remdesivir), Uber, and the real estate company Redfin. Secretary Granholm claims that she was unaware of her trades; however, this is irrelevant, and her duty is to comply with the law.
Secretary Granholm and Biden Administration officials have repeatedly refused to provide information about Secretary Granholm's late financial disclosures.
"As exemplified here, a government official's failure to comply with the most basic ethics rules leads to public distrust in our government. Secretary Granholm should not be exempt from the consequences of violating federal law and she owes the public an explanation for failing to comply with the law. We request the Inspector General immediately investigate and implement the proper penalties and consequences for these violations," said Kendra Arnold, Executive Director of FACT.
A full copy of the complaint is here.
FACT is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting accountability, ethics, and transparency in government and civic arenas. For more on FACT, visit: https://www.factdc.org/
###