Officials at the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) refuse to say who drafted and sent a series of nine tweets Wednesday praising Republican President-elect Donald Trump for promising to sever ties with his far-flung business empire while serving in the Oval Office.
OGE spokesman Seth Jaffe did not respond to multiple requests for the name and title of the person who sent the tweets from OGE’s official Twitter account, or say why OGE refused to disclose that information to The Daily Caller News Foundation. The tweets on the OGE account used words like “bravo” and “brilliant,” uncharacteristic word choices for a taxpayer-funded social media account.
An independent federal office, OGE is responsible for helping executive branch employees avoid conflicts of interest and disclosing financial and other potential sources of conflicts of interest. (RELATED: Obama Ethics Office Unleashes Tweet Storm Praising Trump)
But Jaffe stood by OGE’s remarks when TheDCNF first requested comments on the tweet storm Wednesday.
“Like everyone else, we were excited this morning to read the President-elect’s twitter feed indicating that he wants to be free of conflicts of interest,” Jaffe said in an emailed statement. “OGE applauds that goal, which is consistent with an opinion OGE issued in 1983. Divestiture resolves conflicts of interest in a way that transferring control does not. We don’t know the details of their plan, but we are willing and eager to help them with it.”
“OGE is non-partisan and does not endorse any individual,” adding that, “the tweets that OGE posted today were responding only to the public statement that the President-elect made on his Twitter feed about his plans regarding conflicts of interest. OGE’s tweets were not based on any information about the President-elect’s plans beyond what was shared on his Twitter feed.”
The OGE website claims the agency “maintains official social media accounts on third-party websites to promote transparency and raise the visibility of the executive branch ethics program and OGE.”
“Raising the visibility of the executive branch ethics program and OGE are critical steps towards building awareness of the systems in place to detect and resolve potential conflicts of interest,” the website says.
These are the tweets OGE sent Wednesday:
.@realDonaldTrump We can’t repeat enough how good this total divestiture will be
— U.S. OGE (@OfficeGovEthics) November 30, 2016
.@realDonaldTrump Brilliant! Divestiture is good for you, very good for America!
— U.S. OGE (@OfficeGovEthics) November 30, 2016
.@realDonaldTrump OGE applauds the “total” divestiture decision. Bravo!
— U.S. OGE (@OfficeGovEthics) November 30, 2016
.@realDonalTrump As we discussed with your counsel, divestiture is the way to resolve these conflicts.
— U.S. OGE (@OfficeGovEthics) November 30, 2016
.@realDonaldTrump OGE is delighted that you’ve decided to divest your businesses. Right decision!
— U.S. OGE (@OfficeGovEthics) November 30, 2016
.@realDonaldTrump Bravo! Only way to resolve these conflicts of interest is to divest . Good call!
— U.S. OGE (@OfficeGovEthics) November 30, 2016
.@realDonaldTrump this aligns with OGE opinion that POTUS should act as if 18 USC 208 applies. https://t.co/T6nNUPxFwp
— U.S. OGE (@OfficeGovEthics) November 30, 2016
.@realDonaldTrump this divestiture does what handing over control could never have done.
— U.S. OGE (@OfficeGovEthics) November 30, 2016
.@realDonaldTrump – we told your counsel we’d sing your praises if you divested, we meant it.
— U.S. OGE (@OfficeGovEthics) November 30, 2016
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