Wilbur Ross Said He Divested A Stock Holding - But He Didn't
U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross twice submitted sworn statements to ethics officials saying he had divested stock that he in fact still owned, a new document obtained by the Center for Public Integrity reveals.
The disclosure, in a new filing by Ross, represents the latest in a series of inaccurate statements and omissions in Ross’ personal financial statements since President Donald Trump tapped him as Commerce secretary in late 2016.
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Delaney Marsco, ethics counsel for the Campaign Legal Center, a nonprofit watchdog group that has called for the Commerce Department’s inspector general to investigate whether Ross violated conflict-of-interest laws and statutes governing false statements and omissions, said Ross’ mistakes defy logic.
“There are rules in place,” she said, adding that if he had followed OGE’s instructions to carefully vet his August financial disclosure, he would have realized sooner than October that the stock had not been sold. “It shows a lack of reverence towards the ethics program and a disregard for the rules,” she said.