McClatchy DC: Energy Sec. Rick Perry’s Son Owns an Energy Investment Company. Is That a Problem?
A private investment firm led by Energy Secretary Rick Perry’s son has notified the Securities and Exchange Commission that it’s seeking investors for a new energy fund, raising concerns about the potential for private businesses run by the offspring of high-ranking government officials to benefit from their parents’ policy decisions without the public being aware.
Griffin Perry is one of three owners of Dallas-based Grey Rock Energy Partners, which runs pooled investment funds that take stakes in active U.S. oil and natural gas drilling projects on behalf of wealthy investors who can meet a hefty minimum investment threshhold.
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“The criminal conflict-of-interest statute draws a bright-line distinction between adult child and minor child,” said Walter Shaub, who until February 2017 ran the federal Office of Government Ethics.
Many government ethics experts disagree with that, Shaub noted. “In the case of an adult federal employee and their adult child, reasonable minds may differ.” Griffin Perry is in his mid-30s.