FOIA

Emails: Gov’t Ethics Chief Ordered Tweets Praising Trump

The controversial tweets lauded efforts to reduce his business conflicts.

The head of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics (OGE) personally ordered that the agency praise President-elect Donald Trump through its official Twitter account, according to emails obtained by The Daily Dot in a Freedom of Information Act request. The contrversial series of tweets were in response to Trump’s promises to reduce the conflicts of interest between his soon-to-be role as president and his current role as chief executive of the Trump Organization. The email obtained by The Daily Dot shows that Walter M. Shaub personally ordered the exact wording of each tweet, writing: “Post the following tweets. I would like them posted first thing—8:30 if possible or as soon as possible thereafter. Post them all at once.” The tweets included the phrases, “Brilliant!” “Good call!” “Right decision!” and “Bravo!” Trump has faced questions about how he will separate his business interests from his work as president, but has yet to hold a press conference to answer for those concerns.