Thiel Won’t Confirm That He’s Signed Trump Transition Ethics Agreement

Entrepreneur Peter Thiel speaks during the final day of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Thursday, July 21, 2016. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
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Billionaire Silicon Valley investor Peter Thiel will not confirm that he’s signed an ethics agreement with President-elect Donald Trump’s White House transition team, raising red flags about conflicts of interest.

The agreement, rolled out five days after Thiel officially joined the transition team on Nov. 11, forbids members to serve as lobbyists for five years after serving and requires them to recuse themselves from any matter that directly relates to their financial interests.

According to a Politico report out Tuesday, Thiel and his top aide on the transition, Blake Masters, have not clarified that they have signed it.

Thiel spokesman Jeremiah Hall did not respond to multiple questions from Politico asking for confirmation, saying only, “Peter’s team wants talented people to work in government. Everyone on the team abides by the rules in pursuing that goal.”

Thiel’s business interests include major corporations like PayPal, Palantir, and Facebook, all of which could benefit from his transition role helping to identify candidates for tech roles in Trump’s administration.

The controversial Silicon Valley player has spent plenty of quality time with the President-elect recently, most recently visiting Trump Tower on Monday afternoon. He also attended a “heroes and villains”-themed costume party at the home of a major Trump donor over the weekend with Trump and his senior advisor Kellyanne Conway. According to Politico, Thiel dressed as Hulk Hogan, the wrestler who sued Gawker Media for publishing his sex tape. Thiel bankrolled the lawsuit, which bankrupted the media company.

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Notable Replies

  1. Apparently Thiel doesn’t “do” ethics. It’s not his style.

  2. They have an “Ethics Agreement” ??

    The only clause I can imagine is "Donald Trump gets a 10% cut from everyone, no exceptions! "

  3. Thiel spokesman Jeremiah Hall did not respond to multiple questions from Politico asking for confirmation, saying only, "Peter’s team wants talented people to work in government. Everyone on the team abides by the rules in pursuing that goal."

    He has no intention of signing that NDA.

    "Voters are tired of being lied to," he said. “It was both insane and somehow inevitable that DC insiders expected this election to be a rerun between the two political dynasties who led us through the two most gigantic financial bubbles of our time.”


    According to Politico, Thiel dressed as Hulk Hogan, the wrestler who sued Gawker Media for publishing his sex tape. Thiel bankrolled the lawsuit, which bankrupted the media company.

    sigh, i wanted to be wrong.

    Here’s that TPM Thiel profile from earlier in the year.

    This link also discusses that Thiel press conference at the NPC. If you recognize any of the names in that article, just hum.

  4. Avatar for dcd dcd says:

    Trump team and ethics agreement? Oxymoron if I’ve ever seen one. What’s it say - make sure you abandon your ethics at the door in the off chance our vetting team let someone through who has some?

  5. Avatar for byteme byteme says:

    Does this “ethics agreement” say that no one can steal from the government faster than Trump? He’s gotta give himself a head start here!

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