Iowa considers ethics complaint against Trump's acting attorney general
Source: The Guardian
Iowa considers ethics complaint against Trump's acting attorney general
Matthew Whitaker, a former attorney in Iowa, was involved in a patent company found to be cheating investors of millions
Jon Swaine
Tue 11 Dec 2018 11.00 GMT Last modified on Tue 11 Dec 2018 12.39 GMT
Legal authorities in Iowa are considering an ethics complaint filed against Donald Trump’s acting attorney general, Matthew Whitaker, over his involvement in a company that defrauded customers.
The complaint accuses Whitaker of violating Iowa’s rules for attorneys through his work for World Patent Marketing. If upheld, it could ultimately result in Whitaker’s license to practice law being revoked.
It was filed by Gregory Sarno, an attorney in California opposed to Trump’s agenda. A disciplinary panel at the Iowa supreme court received the complaint late last month, according to records seen by the Guardian.
Sarno’s complaint said Whitaker served as an “enforcer” for World Patent Marketing, which was shut down in May by federal regulators who found it had cheated hopeful inventors out of millions of dollars. Whitaker was paid almost $10,000 to serve as a member of the firm’s advisory board.
“Matthew G Whitaker allegedly aided and abetted a fraudulent marketing scheme that cheated thousands of consumers,” Sarno’s eight-page complaint said.
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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/dec/11/iowa-ethics-complaint-against-matthew-whitaker-trump
