On the heels of Donald Trump’s departure from the White House, the former president isn’t the only one whose dirty laundry is being aired out to the general public.
In the weeks since President Joe Biden’s inauguration, multiple reports have come out exposing just how dirty, corrupt, and screwed the guy really is. But it seems the “Trump Rot” doesn’t end with him.
According to a new report from the Office of Inspector General, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s wife was up to some sketchy stuff during her time as former president Donald Trump’s transportation secretary. The report claims that Elaine Chao used her official position and the staff in her agency on multiple occasions to help out her own family members who run a shipping business with ties to China — which is a potential violation of federal ethics laws.
The findings were included in a report from the Transportation Department’s inspector general that detailed their investigation into Chao’s dealings during her time in the official position within the Trump administration.
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The findings of the report were referred to the DOJ, who refused to open their own investigation saying, “there is no predication” as the Trump administration was coming to a close.
Four separate ethics violations were cited by the internal Transportation Department watchdog, including requiring staff with the DOT to help her with personal errands and market her father’s biography.
The report from the OIG doesn’t officially claim that Chao violated any ethics laws, however, it does highlight several instances that deserve further scrutiny.
NPR reported:
Federal ethics laws bar employees from using their public office for private gain, which could mean publicity or favors from others. Employees must also act impartially and ensure they don’t offer any preferential treatment to any private organization or person. Federal employees cannot use their public office to endorse a product, service or company or for the private gain of friends, family or others.”
The report notes that Chao instructed members of her staff to send copies of her father’s memoir, Fearless Against the Wind, to a well-known but unnamed CEO of a major US company that was not regulated by her agency. She reportedly also told her staff to ask the CEO to pen the forward for the book.
Chao’s office went on the defense of her actions in a Sept. 24, 2020 memo, citing “filial piety.” The memo states, “Anyone familiar with Asian culture knows it is a core value in Asian communities to express honor and filial respect toward one’s parents, and this ingrained value of love, respect, and filial piety always takes precedence over self-promotion and self-aggrandizement.”
“As the eldest daughter, she is expected to assume a leadership role in family occasions that honor her father and her late mother,” their defense went on to add.
You can read the full report from NPR here.
Featured image via Political Tribune gallery
