The federal government’s official ethics watchdog says that Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has violated an ethics agreement with the Trump administration and potentially a law put in place to ensure government officials cannot use their power to enrich themselves.
On Feb. 15 the Office of Government Ethics refused to certify that Ross is in compliance with his ethics agreement with the Trump administration.
According to the office’s director, Trump appointee Emory Rounds, Ross had not sold stock in the Florida-based BankUnited as he had promised to in the first 90 days of the administration and thus was in violation of his ethics agreement.
Violations of conflict-of-interest laws for U.S. officials can be enforced by civil fines or prosecuted at the discretion of the Department of Justice.
Ross, a corporate financial lawyer turned multimillionaire private equity investor prior to joining President Trump’s Cabinet, blamed the ethics violation on his stock broker. It is the third time he’s reported holding assets he promised to divest to avoid potential ethical or legal conflict when he joined the administration.
“While I am disappointed that my report was not certified, I remain committed to complying with my ethics agreement and adhering to the guidance of Commerce ethics officials,” Ross said in a statement provided by a Commerce Department spokesperson.
Ross acknowledged he owned about $3,700 worth of stock in the bank, though he claimed in his ethics disclosure to own none. Government officials holding more than $1,001 are required to disclose those assets.
Nevertheless, the Commerce secretary also argued that the stock did not present a conflict of interest, despite the fact that he agreed to divest from the bank two years ago to avoid a conflict of interest.
“[E]ven if a BankUnited matter had come before the Department while I owned the shares — and I have not been made aware of any such matter — I would not have been disqualified from working on it,” Ross said in a statement.
