Office Of Government Ethics Head Was Behind Trump Divestiture Tweetstorm

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump looks on at the grand opening of the Trump International Hotel in Washington, DC on October 26, 2016.. Photo by Olivier Douliery/Abaca
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The director of the Office of Government Ethics himself was behind some pointed advice the federal agency gave President-elect Donald Trump about his business conflicts by way of its Twitter account in November, according to records obtained by NPR under a Freedom of Information Act request.

OGE Director Walter Shaub Jr. sent two emails to chief of staff Shelley Finlayson on November 30. One contained the mysterious tweets in question and the simple instruction to “Post them all at once.”

The other contained a link to a legal document referenced in one tweet out of the nine posts @OfficeGovEthics made in quick succession, as well as the instruction to “Get all of these tweets posted as soon as humanly possible.”

The tweets were temporarily deleted on November 30 but later reposted, according to NPR.

Later the same day, OGE issued a statement saying they are “willing and eager” to help Trump resolve his business conflicts and further recommending divestiture as a potential solution.

Trump has not decided to divest himself of his business interests to avoid conflicts once he takes office. He canceled a press conference originally scheduled for December 15 to discuss his methods for doing so just days before.

Read the documents and NPR’s report.

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