Trump's treasury secretary accused of ethics violation after Lego Batman 'plug'

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Guardian News


Democrat senator calls for investigation of comments made during interview, but spokesman for Steven Mnuchin says alleged product promotion was a ‘lighthearted moment’

Gwilym Mumford
Tuesday 28 March 2017 08.58 EDT


A senior Democrat has called for US treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin to face an ethics violation investigation over comments he made plugging The Lego Batman Movie, a film financed by one of Mnuchin’s companies.

In a letter to Office of Government Ethics director Walter Shaub, Ron Wyden, the top-ranking Democrat on the Senate finance committee, expressed concern over comments made by Mnuchin during a live Q&A with the political news website Axios, in which Mnuchin called on the public to “send all your kids to Lego Batman”.

Mnuchin is the co-founder of RatPac-Dune, a production company that funded Lego Batman as well as films such as Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. As part of an ethics agreement made on becoming treasury secretary, Mnuchin has promised to divest his holdings in the company within four months of being confirmed by the senate and to “not participate personally and substantially in any matter that has a direct and predictable effect on the financial interests of the entity”.

In his letter, Wyden states that the Senate finance committee has seen no evidence that Mnuchin has divested his interests in RatPac-Dune. “I am concerned that Sec Mnuchin’s comments may be seen to have a predictable effect on the financial interests [of RatPac-Dune]”, Wyden wrote. “I request that you review Sec Mnuchin’s comments and report any findings to me and the Treasury department.”

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/mar/28/us-treasury-secretary-steven-mnuchin-trump-lego-batman-plug

[Zoonart]

1. Top to bottom...

this entire administration is a money sucking criminal enterprise.

[Pacifist Patriot]

11. Sums it up brilliantly

[gordianot]

2. Constant drama.

How I long for the days when needless drama was avoided and you did not have to worry about the Executive branch.

[HoneyBadger]

3. It was a great movie

[DK504]

4. We all knew he is/was a nightmare.

The Ompaloompa has hired the greatest cabal of criminals in the history of our country. So Kremlin Kelly gets away with massive ethics violation, now Munchkin, Little smarmy Jared, Flynn, etc ....

The list keeps on going ta' boot.

[El Mimbreno]

5. Ethics? We don' need no stinkin' ethics! nt

[Angry Dragon]

12. they have no ethics

[mackdaddy]

6. I was really expecting this to be from The Onion, but no - they can corrupt anything...

Sometimes I think the Trump admin is like a Bizzaro Lex Luthor being elected president. Only they are not that smart. Just corrupt and self dealing.

[pangaia]

7. If this were a normal sane administration, I might find it easy to say

it WAS lighthearted, and humorous...........

But it isn't, and it wasn't, and I don't

[democratisphere]

8. Mnuchin is crooked as hell and needs to be removed from his position.

[BillyBobBrilliant]

9. My Goodness! How the Hell

are we going to get the stench out of the whitehouse after they are gone? Assuming there will be a whitehouse, or a country, or an american, or human life remaining.

[FSogol]

10. Fill up the swamp!

I'd be less likely to see a movie that Mnuchin promoted.