EXCLUSIVE — Outgoing White House press secretary Jen Psaki’s use of her official position to disparage the competitor of her prospective future employer warrants an investigation by the Office of Government Ethics and the Department of Justice, a watchdog group said Tuesday.
Reports circulated earlier this month that Psaki will soon leave government service to join MSNBC as a pundit after the network beat out CNN in a bidding war. While federal law requires officials to recuse themselves from any particular matters involving prospective future employers, Psaki continues to interact with MSNBC and CNN reporters during televised press briefings.
Psaki publicly disparaged MSNBC competitor Fox News during an appearance Thursday on the left-wing podcast Pod Save America, saying the cable news network “might make anyone sound like a stupid son of a b****” in reference to White House reporter Peter Doocy. The outgoing press secretary said the following day on Twitter she was not being critical of Doocy or any reporter at Fox News, but the watchdog group Protect the Public’s Trust said the damage is already done.
PSAKI’S REPORTED MSNBC DEAL FRAUGHT WITH ETHICAL LANDMINES, EXPERTS SAY
“Jen Psaki’s reported efforts to secure a job with a major news organization while she serves as White House press secretary created a gauntlet of ethical obstacles,” PPT Director Michael Chamberlain told the Washington Examiner.
“Despite her statements to the contrary, she appears to be willing to simply plow through without any regard to these additional obligations,” Chamberlain said. “Her latest — the demeaning of Fox News, a competitor of her prospective employer, while seeming to act in her official capacity — appears to be a misuse of her official position. Under the circumstances, it’s hard to see how the American public would not perceive the appearance of a conflict of interest.”
PPT said in a letter to Office of Government Ethics Director Emery Rounds and Department of Justice Public Integrity Section Chief Corey Amundson on Tuesday that an investigation into the potential conflict of interest caused by Psaki’s job negotiations with MSNBC and CNN is warranted.
“In order to restore public trust and live up to Ms. Psaki’s own commitment to transparency and engagement, we are calling upon you to investigate whether Ms. Psaki violated her ethical duties, either in her remarks regarding Fox News or in her conduct while negotiating non-federal employment more generally,” the watchdog said in the letter.
The watchdog group also requested that the White House release all records related to Psaki’s job negotiations, “including, but not limited to, records of any formal recusals, Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act of 2012 (STOCK Act) notifications, and records of advice the White House Counsel’s Office has provided to Ms. Psaki to aide compliance during her job search.”
Psaki said during a White House press briefing on April 1 that she has received “rigorous ethics counseling” and has made recusals as a result of her future employment negotiations, but she didn’t provide any specifics.
Multiple ethics experts told the Washington Examiner in early April that Psaki’s pending move to MSNBC raises serious ethical concerns.
“It bothered me when this sort of thing happened in the last administration and bothers me to see it happen in this administration,” Walter Shaub, former President Barack Obama’s ethics chief, previously told the Washington Examiner.
Shaub, now a senior ethics fellow with the Project on Government Oversight, also called on the White House to release details surrounding Psaki’s recusals.
“There are some things a press officer might normally participate in that do directly affect the financial interests of a media outlet, such as deciding which outlets get credentialed to participate in White House briefings or giving an exclusive to one outlet, so I’m guessing they’re requiring her to recuse from any of those types of activities,” Shaub said.
“I think the White House should take this opportunity to offer the public some transparency into its thinking,” he added. “The White House should tell the public what types of things they’re allowing her to do and what parts of her job she won’t be able to do as a result of this employment arrangement.”
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Caitlin Sutherland, the executive director of the conservative watchdog group Americans for Public Trust, also said reports of Psaki’s imminent departure to join MSNBC raise ethical concerns.
“A serious conflict of interest can arise when a sitting press secretary leverages her position to negotiate employment with a media outlet,” Sutherland previously told the Washington Examiner. “Unless the White House takes strict, material steps to ensure Ms. Psaki is in full compliance with laws, a simple press conference could turn into serious legal and ethical consequences.”
