Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, resigns amid tobacco

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: CNBC

The Trump administration's head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention resigned Wednesday on the heels of a bombshell report that she had purchased stock in a tobacco company after taking her job.

Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald, an ob-gyn doctor, also had owned stock in other tobacco companies prior to assuming her post, which oversees smoking-cessation initiatives for the federal government.

A spokesman for U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said, "This morning Secretary Azar accepted Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald's resignation as Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."

"Dr. Fitzgerald owns certain complex financial interests that have imposed a broad recusal limiting her ability to complete all of her duties as the CDC Director," the spokesman said. "Due to the nature of these financial interests, Dr. Fitzgerald could not divest from them in a definitive time period. After advising Secretary Azar of both the status of the financial interests and the scope of her recusal, Dr. Fitzgerald tendered, and the Secretary accepted, her resignation. The Secretary thanks Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald for her service and wishes her the best in all her endeavors."

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.


Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/31/dr-brenda-fitzgerald-head-of-the-centers-for-disease-control-and-prevention-resigns.html

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FULL ARTICLE TITLE: Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, resigns amid tobacco stock controversy

Was researching a different story and stumbled on this. I had seen articles yesterday about the huge conflicts of interest regarding her and divesting of stock in "regulated industry". Whether as an appointee or a run-of-the-mill civil servant in any of these HHS agencies, divesting has been a big issue.

[janterry]

1. Oh, BS (to the owns certain complex nonsense)

All she had to do was ask her lawyer.

[bucolic_frolic]

2. Complex financial interests sounds like

options - straddles, strangles, spreads. Things used to time direction and magnitude of stock price moves. Even if entered into before taking her new position, that could look very bad if the timing played out according to policies she controlled. So yes, best she leaves, for everyone's sake.

[Sgent]

6. Could be

but that stuff is relatively easy to unwind. My guess is a hedge fund, which often can't be sold / redeemed at all, or only annually.

[jalan48]

3. Big tobacco is evil.

[BumRushDaShow]

4. But apparently profitable

to some...

[LanternWaste]

5. During the Clinton Presidency, Dr Fitzgerald joined Newt Gingrich..

During the Clinton Presidency, Dr Fitzgerald joined Newt Gingrich in some low-calorie political theater when they threw tea into the Chattahoochee river.

Also, I vaguely recall something about her personal and financial investment in some kind of anti-aging woo.

She's a bit of a nut.

[SkyDaddy7]

7. How absurd is that!?!

Dr. Fitzgerald resigns (and she damn sure should) after getting caught doing something had Trump done it nobody would care!!! Well, no one who could anything about…Trump has already done far worse & probably rakes in literally 100 times what she would’ve using his office for profit!