Donald Trump’s first Interior Secretary, Ryan Zinke, broke federal ethics rules when he worked on a private development deal while in office, according to a report issued Wednesday by his former agency’s inspector general.
The investigation also found that Zinke – who is currently running for Congress in Montana – inappropriately ordered his staffers to work on the project and lied to an ethics official when confronted about the malfeasance.
The Washington Post reports:
Interior Department Inspector General Mark Greenblatt found that while Zinke was in office, he sent dozens of emails and text messages, held phone calls and met in his office with developers to discuss the design of a large commercial and residential development in his hometown of Whitefish, Mont.
Zinke continued to represent his family’s foundation in the negotiations for nearly a year, investigators found, even after committing to federal officials that he would resign from the foundation and would not do any work on its behalf after he joined the Trump administration.
The Post notes that Zinke’s unethical dealings involved Halliburton, the energy giant, and other developers.
The outlet adds:
The inspector general did not find that Zinke violated federal conflict-of-interest laws because his communication with the developers centered on a private business deal, rather than official Interior Department matters. The investigation also did not find evidence that Zinke had used his position to benefit Halliburton or for his own financial gain, or that his staff tried to conceal his continuing involvement with the development team.
“We referred our findings to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), which declined prosecution of this matter in the summer of 2021,” Greenblatt’s report states.
Axios reports:
Zinke’s campaign slammed the report in a statement, saying that it “published false information, and was shared with the press as a political hit job.”
“Only in Biden’s corrupt admin is talking to one’s neighbor about the town’s public meetings and history of the land a sin. The Zinke family was able to create a free and open space for people to enjoy in Whitefish,” the statement added.
The Associated Press provides key context:
The investigation into the land deal was one of numerous probes of Zinke that began when he was in Trump’s cabinet.
In another case, investigators found that he violated a policy that prohibits non-government employees from riding in government cars after his wife traveled with him, but he said ethics officials approved it. Zinke was cleared of wrongdoing following a complaint that he redrew the boundaries of a national monument in Utah to benefit a state lawmaker and political ally.
During almost two years overseeing the agency responsible for managing 781,000 square miles (2 million square kilometers) of public lands, Zinke’s broad rollbacks of restrictions on oil and gas drilling were cheered by industry.
The Post adds:
Zinke, 60, a former Navy SEAL who rode to work on horseback on his first day at Interior,served one term in the House of Representatives before he joined Trump’s Cabinet. A major proponent of oil and gas drilling, as well as coal mining, Zinke resigned under pressure less than two years later under an avalanche of investigations into his conduct.
With Trump’s endorsement and strong name recognition in a swath of western Montana that Trump carried by seven points in 2020, Zinke is widely favored to win his home state’s new House seat.