White House: Trump's need for aides "outweighs" any ethics concerns
President Donald Trump has granted ethics waivers to at least 17 of his top White House aides, including chief strategist Steve Bannon, Chief of Staff Reince Priebus and senior counselor Kellyanne Conway, in addition to four former lobbyists.
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They also reveal a president who is granting ethics waivers at an unusually rapid pace. The 17 senior White House appointees were all granted waivers in the past four months. His predecessor, Barack Obama, granted that same number of waivers to his top staff over the course of his eight years in office.
The waivers allow those covered under them to be exempt from some of the restrictions imposed by Trump’s executive order on ethics, which he signed just days after taking office. Most involve allowing contact with former clients and employers.
According to White House lawyers, each of these waivers is justified because the administration’s “need for the covered employee’s services outweighs the concern” that he or she might put their own financial interests above the interests of the nation.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/white-house-staff-waivers-ethics_us_592f9f45e4b0540ffc8473c6?ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009&ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009
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