Outgoing Ethics Chief: Explicit Threats ‘Emblematic’ of White House Interactions

Sunday on ABC’s “This Week,” outgoing-Director of the Office of Government Ethics Walter Shaub, Jr. called a warning from White House chief of staff Reince Priebus to “be careful” a “fairly explicit threat.”

He added that it was “emblematic of how the interactions with the White House have been since the beginning of this administration.”

After a video clip of Priebus Shaub said, “I think the fairly explicit threat from Reince Priebus during that show really is emblematic of how the interactions with the White House have been since the beginning of this administration. But no I wasn’t pushed out at all.”

He added, “I really always thought the ethics rules were strong enough to protect the integrity of the government’s operation. My recent experiences have convinced me that they need strengthening. And frankly, they convinced me that that I achieved that all I could possibly achieve in this job.”

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