Soon to be former White House press secretary Jen Psaki’s use of her official role to criticize the competitor of her prospective future employer deserves an investigation by the Office of Government Ethics and the Department of Justice, a watchdog group said Tuesday.
Reports spread earlier this month that Psaki will soon leave government service to join MSNBC as a pundit after the network exceeded CNN in a bidding war. While federal law demands officials to avoid particular matters involving prospective future employers, Psaki continues to interact with MSNBC and CNN reporters during televised press briefings.
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Psaki publicly denounced MSNBC competitor Fox News during an appearance Thursday on the Left-wing podcast iPod Save America, saying the cable news network “might make anyone sound like a stupid son of a b****” about White House reporter Peter Doocy. The outgoing press secretary said the following day on Twitter she was not being critical of Doocy or any reporter at Fox News, but the watchdog group Protect the Public’s Trust said the damage was already done.
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“Jen Psaki’s reported efforts to secure a job with a major news organization while she serves as White House press secretary created a gauntlet of ethical obstacles,” PPT Director Michael Chamberlain told the Washington Examiner.
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“Despite her statements to the contrary, she appears to be willing to simply plow through without any regard to these additional obligations,” Chamberlain said. “Her latest — the demeaning of Fox News, a competitor of her prospective employer, while seeming to act in her official capacity — appears to be a misuse of her official position. Under the circumstances, it’s hard to see how the American public would not perceive the appearance of a conflict of interest.”
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In a letter to the Office of Government Ethics Director Emery Rounds and Department of Justice Public Integrity Section Chief Corey Amundson on Tuesday, PPT said an investigation into the potential conflict of interest caused by Psaki’s job negotiations with MSNBC and CNN is warranted.
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“In order to restore public trust and live up to Ms. Psaki’s own commitment to transparency and engagement, we are calling upon you to investigate whether Ms. Psaki violated her ethical duties, either in her remarks regarding Fox News or in her conduct while negotiating non-federal employment more generally,” the watchdog said in the letter.
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The watchdog group also asked that the White House release all records related to Psaki’s job negotiations, “including, but not limited to, records of any formal recusals, Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act of 2012 (STOCK Act) notifications, and records of advice the White House Counsel’s Office has provided to Ms. Psaki to aide compliance during her job search.”