GRAFT, CORRUPTION, RENT-SEEKING… THE NEW NORMAL: Oversight Members Outline ‘Pattern of Ethical Issues’ at Granholm’s Energy Department.
In a Tuesday letter to Granholm that focused on whether assistant secretary Kelly Speakes-Backman “acted inappropriately” by promoting the interests of her former employer in her official government role, the lawmakers called out the agency for ignoring complaints about ethical lapses.
“On May 12, 2021, we first requested information about another conflict of interest regarding your relationship with Proterra, Inc,” the letter states. “Your agency has failed to provide a substantive response. This lack of transparency and apparent pattern of ethical issues raises questions about the stewardship of the agency by the Biden Administration.”
The complaint the committee referenced was in regards to Granholm’s promotion of electric battery company Proterra while she still held millions of dollars in shares of the company. The agency did not produce documents requested by the committee, which is now asking for documents related to Speakes-Backman.
The next time the GOP is in power, entire departments like DOE need to be zeroed out — just like Gingrich & Co. promised (but failed) to do in the game-changing ’94 election.