Washington, DC – Today, Cause of Action Institute (CoA Institute) sent a Freedom of Information Act request to the U.S. Department of State seeking information about Secretary Hillary Clinton’s interactions with the Department’s ethics office.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FOIA REQUEST
Recently released emails demonstrate that Clinton Foundation donors may have received special access to Secretary Clinton. These emails raise questions about whether she and members of her staff adequately addressed any potential conflicts of interest.
CoA Institute has requested copies of recusals and ethics agreements for Secretary Clinton and members of her staff, as well as any ethics waivers or exemptions they obtained from the State Department’s ethics office. The FOIA request also seeks records of advice the ethics office provided to Secretary Clinton, as well as certain communications with the Office of Government Ethics.
Cause of Action President and CEO, and former federal judge, Alfred J. Lechner, Jr. issued the following statement:
“The State Department’s Inspector General found that only 53% of senior Department officials completed required annual ethics training in 2012. These findings suggest that Department officials during Secretary Clinton’s tenure did not take even their basic ethics responsibilities seriously. Americans have a right to know whether Secretary Clinton and her aides at the State Department flouted ethics requirements in order to grant special favors to Clinton Foundation supporters.”
