Walter Shaub

Walter Shaub
Portrait photograph of Walter Shaub
Director of the United States Office of Government Ethics
In office
January 9, 2013 – July 19, 2017
President Barack Obama
Donald Trump
Preceded by Don Fox (Acting)
Succeeded by David Apol (Acting)
Personal details
Born Walter Michael Shaub Jr.
(1971-02-20) February 20, 1971
Virginia, U.S.
Education James Madison University (BA)
American University (JD)

Walter Michael Shaub Jr. (born February 20, 1971) is an American attorney specializing in government ethics who, from January 9, 2013 to July 19, 2017[1], was the director of the United States Office of Government Ethics.[2] As of July 19, 2017, he joined the Washington D.C.-based election law organization, the Campaign Legal Center (CLC), as Senior Director, Ethics.[3]

Career

Shaub earned a B.A. degree in history from James Madison University, then earned his J.D. degree from American University Washington College of Law. He spent from 1997 to 2004 as an attorney in federal agencies including the Office of Government Ethics, the Central Office of the United States Department of Veteran Affairs, the Office of General Counsel of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, and the United States Department of Veteran Affairs Baltimore–Washington Regional Counsel's office. In 2004, he became an attorney at the Shaw, Bransford, Veilleux and Rother law firm. In 2006, he joined the Office of Government Ethics to become the attorney in charge of the Presidential nomination program. He held this position for two years before becoming the Deputy General Counsel in 2008. In 2013, he was appointed by President Barack Obama to a five-year term as the director of the Office of Government Ethics.[4]

Trump administration

Shaub was outspoken with concerns about the Trump administration during the transition period before he took office. He delivered a long statement on January 11, 2017 regarding concerns with the president-elect's plans to move his assets into a trust managed by his sons.[5] Shaub was also the author of a series of tweets published on the Office of Government Ethics Twitter account, which gained media attention for breaking from the account's typically serious tone to mimick Donald Trump's tweeting style and congratulate him on his announcement that he would divest himself of his business assets.[6][5][7]

On April 28, 2017, Shaub issued a data request to see the ethics waivers given to ex-lobbyists in the executive branch, which, Mick Mulvaney, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, refused.[8] On May 22, Shaub sent Mulvaney, in addition to every federal ethics officer, every inspector general, and the six members of Congress responsible for government oversight, a ten-page response reasserting his legal authority to see the ethics waivers.[8]

On July 6, 2017, Walter Shaub submitted his resignation, effective July 19, 2017, saying that ethics rules should be tighter.[9] After that, he will work with the Campaign Legal Center, a nonpartisan organization of election-law experts located in Washington DC.

He said of the United States and the Trump administration, [we] " are pretty close to a laughingstock at this point.”[10] In an interview with Judy Woodruff of PBS, Shaub was highly critical of the Trump Administration. He described, "the White House that has set a tone from the top that ethics doesn’t matter."[11] He was highly critical of naming an acting director, to avoid the Senate confirmation process.

Shaub fears that under Trump the United States government will be seen as a kleptocracy. Shaub maintains that Trump uses his hotels and other properties for government business, which Shaub maintains amounts to free advertising. Shaub said, “His actions create the appearance of profiting from the presidency, and the appearance here is everything, because the demand I’m making is so much more than ‘have a clean heart’. It’s: ‘Have a clean heart and act appropriately,’”[12]

References

  1. ↑ Overby, P., Geewax, M. Ethics Office Director Walter Shaub Resigns, Saying Rules Need To Be Tougher. July 6, 20171:01 PM ET
  2. ↑ "Ethics Office Warns Confirmations For Trump Nominees Are Moving Too Fast". NPR.org. Retrieved 2017-01-11.
  3. ↑ "OGE Director Walter M. Shaub, Jr. to Join CLC and Lead Ethics Practice". Campaign Legal Center. 2017-07-06. Retrieved 2017-07-25.
  4. ↑ Biography of Walter M. Shaub, Jr. (PDF) (Report). United States Office of Government Ethics. December 16, 2015.
  5. 1 2 Rein, Lisa (January 11, 2017). "Federal ethics chief blasts Trump’s plan to break from businesses, calling it ‘inadequate’". Washington Post. Retrieved January 12, 2017.
  6. ↑ Selyukh, Alina (December 30, 2016). "U.S. Ethics Chief Was Behind Those Tweets About Trump, Records Show". NPR. Retrieved January 12, 2017.
  7. ↑ Reuters. "Official U.S. Ethics Office Got Snarky With Donald Trump on Twitter". Fortune. Retrieved January 12, 2017.
  8. 1 2 Eric Lipton (23 May 2017). "White House Moves to Block Ethics Inquiry Into Ex-Lobbyists on Payroll". The New York Times. p. A1. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
  9. ↑ Overby, P., Geewax, M. Ethics Office Director Walter Shaub Resigns, Saying Rules Need To Be Tougher. July 6, 20171:01 PM ET
  10. ↑ Lipton, Eric. "Outgoing Ethics Chief: U.S. Is ‘Close to a Laughingstock’".
  11. ↑ Woodruff, Judy (July 26, 2017). "‘There’s a cloud over all government decision-making’ under Trump, says former ethics chief". PBS. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
  12. ↑ Trump makes US seem a 'kleptocracy', says ex-ethics chief Walter Shaub The Guardian
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