AGRICULTURE/ETHICS/LOBBYING/TRUMP PEOPLE/USDA: “From suggestions for members of a science committee to emails sent ‘on the sly’ and thoughts for the secretary’s speeches, new internal emails from the US Department of Agriculture show big food industry lobbyists are working hand-in-glove with agency staffers. The newly released emails were obtained by the nonpartisan independent Project on Government Oversight via a Freedom of Information Act request and shared exclusively with CNN. Though exposing no apparent legal violation, they offer a window into how some top USDA political appointees — former lobbyists themselves — are in frequent contact with their old employers and others who are lobbying the agency, and how those lobbyists are seeking to influence the agency on issues large and small. The USDA, under the Trump administration, has moved to roll back a series of regulations opposed by industry, to the chagrin of health and food safety advocates. The emails show how the agency is very willing to work with industry lobbyists, even accepting and using talking points for one of Secretary Sonny Perdue’s speeches.”
–Rene Marsh, “Emails show the swamp stretches to the Agriculture Department,” CNN politics, CNN.com, August 23, 2018 9:30 am