Treasury Secretary Very Sorry For Plugging His Company’s ‘LEGO Batman’ Movie

Treasury Secretary-designate Steven Mnuchin arrives on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2017, to testify at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Finance Committee. Mnuchin built his reputation and... Treasury Secretary-designate Steven Mnuchin arrives on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2017, to testify at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Finance Committee. Mnuchin built his reputation and his fortune as a savvy Wall Street investor but critics charge that he profited from thousands of home foreclosures as the chief of a sub-prime mortgage lender during the housing collapse. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) MORE LESS
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Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin says he was just kidding when he plugged his production company’s new film, “LEGO Batman,” during a live interview earlier this month with the news site Axios.

In a Friday letter to the Office of Government Ethics, Mnuchin explained that he was fully “aware” of federal ethics guidelines when he cited his production company’s film in response to an audience member’s “light hearted” request for a movie recommendation.

“I should not have made that statement,” Mnuchin wrote to OGE Director Walter Shaub. “I want to assure you that I was aware of the rule against using public office to promote a particular product, as I specifically acknowledged in the interview.”

During the March 24 interview, the Trump appointee said, “I am not promoting any product, but you should send all your kids to see LEGO Batman.”

That comment prompted Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) to write OGE criticizing Mnuchin’s “blatant disregard and disrespect to the office he serves” and asking for a review of the incident.

It’s still unclear whether Mnuchin has fully divested from his production company, Ratpac-Dune Entertainment, as he had pledged to do within 120 days of his confirmation.

Mnuchin told Shaub he takes his ethical responsibilities “very seriously” and meets regularly with the Treasury’s designated ethics official.

“I fully appreciate the core ethics principle that public office is a public trust and that no employee may use his office for his own or others’ private gain,” he wrote.

Several other Trump associates have been accused of ethics violations. Ivanka Trump was criticized after her jewelry company promoted a bracelet from her line that she wore in a “60 Minutes” interview with the rest of the first family, and White House adviser Kellyanne Conway was “counseled” after she told Fox News viewers to “go buy Ivanka’s stuff,” a lukewarm response to the initial offense that the OGE said risks “undermining the ethics program.”

Read Mnuchin’s full letter below:

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