Congressman Krishnamoorthi Calls For Answers From The Office Of The Vice President And Office Of Government Ethics On VP Pence’s Chief Of Staff’s Conflicts Of Interest

SCHAUMBURG, IL – Today, Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi continued his investigation into serious ethical questions surrounding Marc Short, Vice President Pence's Chief of Staff and principal aide to the Coronavirus Task Force, by writing to the Office of the Vice President (OVP) with regard to its handling of Mr. Short's conflicts of interest and to the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) on its oversight of the OVP's ethics program. Specifically, Short's conflicts of interests lie in his owning between $506,043 and $1.64 million worth of individual stocks in companies that have been directly involved in or affected by the Coronavirus Task Force's work. Additionally, Mr. Short has apparently violated any related recusal which may have been in place by publicly discussing those companies, such as on March 18^th when he praised the 3M Company on the Fox Business network as "one of the "primary producers" of respirator masks. At the time, Mr. Short owned between $65,002 and $150,000 in 3M stock.

These letters follow Congressman Krishnamoorthi's July 13^th letter to the Office Of Government Ethics regarding these same issues. In the OGE's letter in response to the Congressman's inquiry, the agency directed him to consult the OVP for specific records on Mr. Short's ethics arrangements, writing "OGE regularly provides advice to employing agencies and offices, such as OVP, and contacts agency ethics officials when OGE becomes aware of potential problems to ensure that the agency is analyzing and taking actions regarding the issues that are raised. Specific records of advice given and training provided to an employee are maintained by the employing agency or office." Based on this response, Congressman Krishnamoorthi today wrote to the OVP requesting the ethics information and records relevant to Mr. Short's potential conflict and to the OGE requesting information on its oversight of the OVP's ethics program and that of other executive agencies.

To address the specific questions around Mr. Short's conflicts of interest and whether they are being addressed, Congressman Krishnamoorthi requested the information and records from the Office of the Vice President including:

1. What is OVP doing to address Mr. Short's apparent violations?
2. Does OVP plan to certify Mr. Short's annual financial disclosure despite these apparent violations?
3. Does OVP plan to refer this matter to the Public Integrity Section of the Department of Justice? Why or why not?
4. Has OVP taken steps to ensure that these violations do not continue to occur in the future?
5. Has OVP obtained a list of meetings regarding the pandemic response in which Mr. Short participated with companies whose stock he held? If not, why not?
6. What justification did the Office of the Vice President or the White House offer for considering a certificate of divestiture for Mr. Short, and specifically, what was the basis for concluding that Mr. Short had a conflict of interest?
7. What guidance has OGE provided Mr. Short, the White House or the Office of the Vice President regarding the management of Mr. Short's conflicts of interest?
8. Have any measures been taken to address the complications of Mr. Short's ethics arrangements being overseen by one of his subordinates?
9. Was Mr. Short required to complete government ethics training during his recent service at the White House or during his current service at the Office of the Vice President, and did any such training cover conflicts of interest?

In his separate letter to the Office of Government Ethics, Congressman Krishnamoorthi requested information on OGE's work to oversee executive agency ethics programs, citing 5 CFR 2638.108(a)(14) which states:

"The Office of Government Ethics orders such corrective action on the part of an agency as the Director deems necessary, pursuant to subpart D of this part, and such corrective action on the part of individual executive branch employees as the Director deems necessary, pursuant to subpart E of this part."

Based on this statute and the OGE's established role, Congressman Krishnamoorthi requested records and information on its oversight of agency ethics programs including:

1. What oversight measures does OGE use to ensure that agencies are properly administering their ethics programs?
2. Has OGE opened any inquiries or investigations into whether any agencies are failing to fully and properly administer their ethics programs in accordance with OGE rules?
3. Did reports and inquiries surrounding Mr. Short's conflicts of interest precipitate any review of OVP's ethics program?
4. Have ethical questions around any other executive branch officials led to inquiries by OGE into the administration of agency ethics programs?

Congressman Krishnamoorthi requested responses to both his letters by September 11^th. His letter to the Office of the Vice President is available here while his letter to the Office of Government Ethics is available here.