A group of more than 3,000 scientists is using the indictment of of Paul Manafort, the Trump campaign’s former chairman, to urge lawmakers to reject President Trump’s nominee to be the Agriculture Department’s top scientist by highlighting his ties to Russia.
The Union of Concerned Scientists released a letter sent to the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee on Tuesday signed by 3,100 scientists by opposing Sam Clovis as lead scientist.
The agriculture panel must advance Clovis’ nomination before he can be approved by the full Senate.
The group of activist scientists has long opposed Clovis’ nomination. “He fails to meet even the most basic qualifications for the position as defined by Congress,” said Mike Lavender, a senior official at the Union of Concerned Scientists who specializes in agriculture and food.
Clovis “rejects mainstream climate science; he has made racist and homophobic comments and embraces conspiracy theories; and he has questioned the necessity of a basic farmer safety net,” Lavender said.
But now, there is a new objection: Clovis’ potential involvement with the Trump campaign’s Russian connections. The Russia ties are being raised one day after the special counsel’s office announced that a federal grand jury indicted Manafort.
The grand jury indicted Manafort and his former business associate Rick Gates on 12 counts, including conspiracy against the U.S. and conspiracy to launder money. The indictment also contains counts of making false and misleading Foreign Agents Registration Act statements, serving as an unregistered foreign principal, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts.
“Now, emerging evidence of Clovis’ potential involvement with the Trump campaign’s Russian connections should be the final nail in the coffin for his confirmation,” Lavender said. “At virtually every point in his career, Clovis has failed to display the judgment needed to manage the responsible investment of billions of dollars in taxpayer money in a safe, sustainable, productive food system.”
Clovis, former co-chairman of the Trump campaign, encouraged George Papadopoulos, the campaign foreign policy adviser, to travel to Russia for off-the-record meetings with government officials, according to multiple news accounts. Papadopoulos pleaded guilty to lying to FBI agents over his ties to Russian foreign nationals.
“The Senate Agriculture Committee should reject his nomination and instead consider any of the hundreds of eminently more qualified individuals for this vital position that serves farmers, ranchers, researchers, and consumers, and helps determine the future of our food system,” said Lavender.
The letter does not mention the Russia connections, but focuses on Clovis’ lack of scientific training and experience as the main problem with his nomination.
