Predictably, GOP Representative Jason Chaffetz, the head of the House Oversight Committee, is going after Walter Shaub, the head of the Office of Government Ethics. Chaffetz has invited Mr. Shaub to give closed-door transcribed testimony to his committee, and has indicated that he will subpoena him to testify if he declines to appear in response to this invitation.
Lest anyone think that this is an actual attempt to get information, as opposed to a partisan witch-hunt, Chaffetz has indicated that he’s already made up his mind about the facts and the law, and that the Office of Government Ethics is acting unethically. Per Chaffetz:
We need the Office of Government Ethics to act ethically. Ironically, that’s not what they’re doing.
It’s not only Democrats who can see that Chaffetz’s conduct is blatantly partisan:
They are strong-arming them,” said Richard Painter, who served as an ethics lawyer during the George W. Bush administration. “They are obviously very upset the Office of Government Ethics is leaning on Trump and not willing to jam through his nominees. It is political retaliation.”
Democrats, including ranking Democrat on the Oversight Committee and my Congressman, Elijah Cummings, want Shaub to testify in a public hearing, where they can ask questions about Trump’s plan to supposedly shield himself from ethical conflicts, but Chaffetz obviously wants no part of that.