Editor's note: This updates with details from the OIG letter.
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, who leaned on Alaska's U.S. senators in a bid to secure their votes to repeal the Affordable Care Act, will be investigated by his department's Office of Inspector General for possible ethical and/or legal violations.
Secretary Zinke placed phone calls to U.S. Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan late last month to urge them to vote for repeal or be prepared for a little less help from Interior on issues key to Alaska.
"I'm not going to go into the details, but I fear that the strong economic growth, pro-energy, pro-mining, pro-jobs and personnel from Alaska who are part of those policies are going to stop," Sen. Sullivan, who voted for repeal, told the Alaska Dispatch News in describing his conversation with Secretary Zinke. "I tried to push back on behalf of all Alaskans. … We're facing some difficult times and there's a lot of enthusiasm for the policies that Secretary Zinke and the president have been talking about with regard to our economy. But the message was pretty clear."
Sen. Murkowski was one of three Republicans to vote against repeal. The others were Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Susan Collins of Maine.
OIG staff sent letters late Thursday to both U.S. Reps. Raul Grijalva and Frank Pallone, the top Democrats on the House committees on natural resources and energy, respectively, to announce that they would look into what the Democrats perceived as threats against the senators.
Rep. Grijalva had asked the OIG on July 27, the day after Secretary Zinke called the senators, to investigate the matter.
The phone calls, the Arizona Democrat said at the time, were "an alarming sign of how far the administration’s ethical standards have fallen and how irresponsible the Interior Department has become."
The letter sent to the representatives was short and brief, essentially a confirmation that OIG would look into Rep. Grijalva's concerns.
"You requested that the Office of Inspector General for DOI investigate this matter and address a number of potential legal and ethical violations," said the letter, a copy of which the Traveler obtained Friday evening. "The OIG is undertaking a preliminary investigation into this matter. We will advise you about what further action the results of this inquiry lead the OIG to take."
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Comments
Good.
Yeaaahh!
The Drumpf administration is providing more entertainment than a whole flock of late night comedians.
Pathetic, isn't it?
I guess I'm missing something. This sounds like politics as usual to me. Doesn't This happen every day on both sides of the isle?
It's not "politics as usual." It's unethical and/or illegal for administration officials to lobby Congress, especially on legislation outside the purview of their department. Healthcare reform isn't in Interior's portfolio. The fact that it's all over the news indicates that doesn't "happen every day on both sides of the isle [sic]."
Between congressmen yes, but when the clown in chief gets the secretary of interior doing his dirty work thats another story all to gether.
Usually they're a little more subtle about this kind of crap than these clowns are.
Attempted heavying, but clumsy and inept.
TRUMP, LIAR IN CHIEF, EFFECTIVELY DEMONSTRATES FOR HIS CABINET HOW TO BULLY THOSE WHO MAY DISAGREE WITH YOU:
http://www.cnn.com/2017/06/29/politics/trump-mika-analysis/index.html
Cabinet Members Respond Like Good Nazis: "Yes Dear Leader"
Yes wild it happens every day. And no Mike, there is nothing unethical or illegal about an administration official lobbying Congress. The fact the complicit liberal media is excited about this means nothing except they are the complicit liberal media.
We shall see. The "fake news" Washington Post reported this:
But David J. Hayes, a former Interior Department deputy secretary under both Presidents Obama and Clinton, said Zinke's reported threat "deserves careful scrutiny" under U.S. law restricting members of the executive branch from lobbying Congress on pending legislation even if it turns out to be legal.
"Based on my experience and understanding, cabinet officials have some leeway to lobby Congress under the Anti-Lobbying Act so long as they are acting 'within their area of responsibility," Hayes said. "Here, however, it appears that Zinke was lobbying for a health-care bill, not on an Alaska-related issue within Interior's area of responsibility. Even more troubling, as the basis for his health-care lobbying pitch, he reportedly put the discharge of his statutory responsibilities in Alaska in play."
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/the-energy-202/2017...
The Anti-Lobbying Act, the law in question, is 18 U.S.C. 1913.
So FOX is now part of the "complicit liberal media" because this was reported by them yesterday?
Interesting.
Zinke being investigated is a news event. I would expect Fox and everyone else to report it. Zinke talking to a Senator is not a news event. Well covered and made an issue by the complicit liberal media. Since I don't watch FOX don't know whether they participated in that or not but have not seen any prior stories from them online.
"My favorite moment came when Trump dispatched Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to warn Murkowski that if she continued to vote against the bill, her home state of Alaska would lose stuff it wanted from the federal government.
Perhaps we will read about this in “The Art of the Deal: Presidential Edition.” (“If you need to win over one special vote, try to do it with threats. This is particularly effective if your target has more power than you do.”) The administration, which so far has barely managed to exercise enough clout to get a building renamed, was trying to strong-arm an influential committee chairwoman whose Senate term does not end until 2023 — a date that, many of her colleagues believe fervently, is a lot longer than they are likely to be dealing with Donald Trump. Murkowski and Collins continued voting “no” because they believed that Trumpcare would be bad for the people in their states. Other Republican senators felt the same way, but lacked the same nerve."
"... cynical minds noted, he was basically warning Murkowski that if she didn’t behave, he might attempt to protect the environment."
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/28/opinion/health-susan-collins-murkowsk...
And "complicit liberal media" is now one of those buzz word phrases we'll hear more often because some idologue pundit pushed it out to his gullible wingnut followers. We've all seen how well "baseless accusations" caught on. Using these phrases and words is sooooo much easier than thinking.
Good Grief, Tahoma, PLEASE BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU POST HERE!
I went to the New York Times article and made the big mistake of clicking on a link to take me to a photo of Texas representative Farenholt. I'll be fighting nausea for a week now. Yet right there was the entire GOP personified.
Except there is no evidence that actually happened. In fact, despite Mulkowski saying it was inappropriate to call the conversation a threat - news outlets, including this one, continue to contradict her. She was on the conversation, those calling it a threat weren't.
The Office of Legal Counsel within the Department of Justice has interpreted the statute (The Anti-Lobby Act) based on its underlying purpose, which is to restrict the use of appropriated funds for large-scale, high-expenditure campaigns to solicit pressure on government officials in relation to pending or proposed legislative matters on behalf of an Administration position.
https://ethics.od.nih.gov/topics/lobbying.htm
Two phone calls would hardly constitute "the use of appropriated funds for large-scale, high-expenditure campaigns"
That sound you hear is goal posts moving and Gish galloping.
Though that wild places and ecbuck think that this sort of bullying is totes normal says an awful lot about them, at least.
Yes Toxie you are trying to move the goal post from " large-scale, high-expenditure campaigns" to routine discussions between the administration and members of Congress. Why must those on the left focus on non-consequential minutiae rather than the issues, i.e getting rid of the self imploding Obamacare and putting in something that works.
Toxie - no one ever said that Zinke was good at trying to try to heavy them. Of course, he has a DOA product in Trumpcare. Millions losing coverage is not helping people. As a retired healthcaree professional, I can tell you I know of many who are now insured, and in fact alive, because of the ACA and who are terrified at living under the profit-motivated Trumpians.
Few if any would "lose" coverage. Of course when Obamacare collapses, everyone will lose coverage.
Sorry. During my nursing career I saw real people bleed and die, and learned to care about it. Meanwhile you became much better than I at reading profit and loss statements. I'm comfortable with my viewpoint, and wouldn't feel comfortable in my own skin if I had yours.
And, despite what Alex Jones, Sean Hannity, Breitbart, et al tell you, millions are currently at threat of losing their health coverage. The ACA is not perfect, but it is so much better than what we had prior. To you, it is headlines and politics. To me, I can give names and diagnoses. Go way and stop faking like you care.
No Rick, read the CBO report rather than the complicit media headlines or Alex Jones, Sean Hannity or Breitbart, none of which I listen to. The vast majority of those that will "lose" their insurance according to the CBO wont "lose it" at all. Absent the mandate they will use their own free will to not purchase insurance. There isn't a single person that is recieving vital healthcare today that would not have received it under the prior system nor after the repeal of Obamacare. The farther you take the receiver of healthcare away from the payer of healthcare, the more expensive healthcare is going to get and the less sustainable any insurance system will be.
ecbuck ... won't explain that he is removing the Medicaid expansion from his numbers because it's not "real" insurance and that the "solution" to people who receive vital care that they can't pay for is bankruptcy. Including people with genetic conditions- because he's a lottery winner and they aren't.
How anyone can take this ... seriously boggles my mind. It's a "philosophy" where the strong and lucky dominate the weak and unlucky all the way down.
This comment was edited to remove gratuitious language. -- Ed.
If you really believe that I have some offshore property for you to build on.
Toxie, sorry, life isn't fair. I can't sing or dance or dunk a basketball. That is my lottery but I am not whining about it. While there are some that may lose the genetic lottery, for the vast majority, our health is prmarily driven by our lifestyles. Your philosopy is that people shouldn't be responsible for how they live or how they use the healthcare system. How anyone can take this ... seriously boggles my mind. Again, the farther the receiver of healthcare is from the payer, the more incentive to over visit, over test, over diagnose, over medicate and over operate and sue. That is why our healthcare costs are so high now. And the fact is, no one is denied essential healthcare. I do believe that one should be eligible for health coverage from day one, even perhaps through age 18. But, once a working adult, there is no legitimate reason that someone should not provide for his own continuous (or near continuous) coverage. If one decides not to get insurance and develops a problem, then they lost the insurance lottery, not the genetic lottery.
I dare you to be that callous to to the faces of people with Type I diabetes or sickle cell anemia or Factor V Leiden. All of whom were simply denied individual coverage no matter how much they wanted it under the old laws.
Edited to remove personal attack.
Actually, if they were part of a group plan, they weren't denied at all. But as I said before, someone should always have the chance to buy insurance at the beginning. But if they don't, that is on them, not on me. And if they smoke, drink excessively, fail to excercise, camp at McDonalds or engage in dangerouse activities, that should be on them, not me.
EC Buck
You're out of luck
The Zinke threats proven real.
Now you can whine
That the media opined
It really is a big deal!
Perhaps you would like to document that proof, smokies.
With a plethora of news
There is none he can use
to deflect from a growing new scandal.
Involving Ryan Z, it is clear to see
EC's got more Trump crap to handle.
Yep, I envision Smokies is on his knees chanting Hillary is my leader, Hillary is my leader. If the Left would be willing to just clean out their side of the Swamp they might have a bitch (and a chance). But, they evidently won't.
So where is the proof, smokies?
Of course there isn't any
But that doesn't stop you from
Your accusational dysentery.
Backpacker - even when Trump gets down to 0% support [he is down to 33% as of this morning] the folks you are arguing with won't admit it. It would require them to admit they have been wrong, and they can no more admit that than Trump himself can.
TA you must be dreaming. The only person talking about Hillary now is Trump. She has left and gone away, but he still keeps fighting here because she won the popular vote. Trying to lay that on us is a projection and a straw man.
Don't forget Rick, much of the disapproval is not from people that disagree with his agenda but comes from people upset that he hasn't accomplished enough. I would put myself in that camp.
At least we all agree Trump is not an effective President
Tell yourself whatever gets you through the night.
Edited to remove insulting language
Wow, a whole lot of editing going on not to mention completely off topic. The Traveler has far more patience than I ever will. I tip my hat to you Kurt.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/ryan-zinke-just-might-be-the-trump-cabinet...