Resigning as secretary of the interior didn’t put an end to Ryan Zinke’s legal troubles.
The Department of Justice is investigating Zinke over his use of private email to conduct official business, according to a Tuesday letter from Interior Department Inspector General Gail Ennis to Reps. Raúl Grijalva and Elijah Cummings. Grijalva is the chairman of the Natural Resources Committee, while Cummings is chairman of the Oversight and Reform Committee.
The letter was written to both representatives in response to their request to investigate Zinke’s use of private email. In the letter, Ennis announced that the request to investigate the emails had been granted, and would be conducted as a joint investigation between the Interior and Justice departments. The letter said that the request was granted as part of a “related criminal investigation” and combined the investigations in order to “avoid any interference.”
The larger investigation referenced is believed to be focused on a real estate deal in Zinke’s home state of Montana. The deal involved a foundation Zinke once ran as well as a development group supported by David Lesar, the chairman of the oil company Halliburton. If the investigation finds that Zinke used his personal office to influence and benefit from the deal, he could face up to five years in prison and a fine of $50,000.
Grijalva welcomed the news of the investigation. “Leaving office half a step ahead of the law doesn’t wipe the slate clean,” Grijalva said in a statement Tuesday. “It’s imperative that political appointees at the Department of Justice allow this investigation to continue unimpeded regardless of the risk to Mr. Zinke or other Trump officials.”
Zinke resigned in December amid rumors of the investigations into his emails and conduct. The release of the letter not only confirms previous reporting claiming that Zinke was under investigation from his own department, but also is the first confirmation that the Justice Department is involved.
Zinke and President Trump have yet to comment on the investigation.
