A reminder: The Trump administration is one of the most scandal-plagued in modern history

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a watchdog group, does a nice job rounding up the 14 — yes, 14 — ethics investigations centering on Zinke and his practices, from the silly (Zinke tweeted a picture of his socks with Trump’s Make America Great Again logo on them, a potential violation of the Hatch Act) to the potentially serious (Zinke’s role in a proposed development project funded by the chairman of Halliburton, the oil-service firm affected by Interior policies, in Zinke’s hometown of Whitefish, Mont.).

The list also includes a troubling array of investigations that died in part because of lack of cooperation by Zinke and Interior officials, or because of a failure by Zinke and the department to maintain a paper trail of his official activities.

On the good news front, the Office of Special Counsel cleared Zinke of several possible Hatch Act violations stemming from official government trips that also included political appearances. (The Hatch Act of 1939 prohibits most executive branch employees from engaging in certain forms of political activity, in order to avoid conflicts of interest.)

Zinke is in good company, though, in one of the most scandal-ridden administrations in recent history. There’s Ben Carson, head of Housing and Urban Development, who selected a $31,000 dining set for his office.

And Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, who likes to travel on military planes – including to watch an eclipse from the roof of Fort Knox. (A former Wall Street titan standing above the nation’s gold cache — that was rich).

And Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who resigned after revelations that she bought stock in tobacco companies shortly after assuming control of an agency that oversees programs trying to end tobacco use.

Remember, we’re less than halfway through Trump’s first term.

Source: Scott Martelle ~ LA Times ~ August 10, 2018