Washington D.C. – Ahead of Howard Lutnick’s Senateconfirmation hearing for U.S. Commerce Secretary, new analyses from government watchdog Accountable.US – first reported by theFinancial Times – detail how the billionaire’s massive interests in cryptocurrency, massive computer chipmaker Nvidia, and the satellite industry pose seemingly unavoidable conflicts of interests given the sprawling Department’s oversight, rules, and research of each of these industries. At the center of these conflicts is Lutnick’s financial services company, Cantor Fitzgerald, and its financial entanglements. While Lutnick claims he will divest from his business empire, he is reportedly so deeply “entwined” with Cantor that dozens of current and former employees and associatestold Bloomberg “his grip on his various businesses is bolted tight” and “his knot of conflicts is unlikely to loosen easily.”
“Billionaire Howard Lutnick is so inextricably tied up in his financial services company that his claims to divest from potential Commerce Department business means little in practical terms, especially when two of his children still work for his firm,” saidAccountable.US Executive Director Tony Carrk. “Lutnick conveniently did not rule out that his children would take stakes in the conflicted companies when he leaves for the administration- conflicts of interest that would loom over the department and could cost everyday consumers.
“Take, for example, Lutnick’s company’s giant investment in cryptocurrency and how, as Commerce Secretary, he would be poised to help write federal crypto rules and potentially manipulate research to benefit himself, his family, partners, and friends on Wall Street,” added Carrk. “Given how virtually impossible it would be for Lutnick to avoid such conflicts, senators should demand the fine details on how he would do so. Rich corporate special interests getting the insider edge over the needs of everyday Americans are quickly coming to define the Trump administration.”
WHAT SENATORS NEED TO KNOW ABOUT LUTNICK’S POTENTIAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST:
ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND:
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