2016 ELECTION/RUSSIA/STEVEN MNUCHIN/TREASURY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Inspector General said late Wednesday [12-20-17] it won’t pursue a request to probe whether Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin should recuse himself from federal investigations into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
Democratic lawmakers, public-interest groups and left-leaning nonprofits have questioned in recent months whether Mr. Mnuchin’s role as former Trump campaign finance chairman created a conflict of interest now that he is the secretary overseeing two agencies aiding federal investigators…
The Center for Economic and Policy Research, Public Citizen and several other groups said in a letter submitted to the inspector general’s office Monday that Mr. Mnuchin’s recent appointment of two officials to lead those agencies is evidence that the secretary should recuse himself.
The administration was criticized for naming a political appointee, David Kautter, the Treasury’s top tax-policy official, to run the IRS in October…
Mr. Mnuchin, asked at a House committee hearing in July if his roles required a recusal, said he has no conflicts and that the Treasury’s offices had been cooperating with investigations.”
-Ian Talley, “Treasury Watchdog Declines Request for Mnuchin Recusal Probe,” The Wall Street Journal online, Dec. 20, 2017 07:06pm