Rules revert to aid donors and staffers

THE U.S. OFFICE of Government Ethics quietly reversed a ban on lobbyists making anonymous donations to White House staffers’ legal defense funds, according to a report Wednesday.

The less-than-transparent change could aid Trump administration staffers raise money to pay for lawyers representing them in the ongoing investigation into ties between the President’s campaign and Russia.

Special counsel Robert Mueller is reportedly looking to interview at least six senior and former Trump aides as part of his probe.

Walter Shaub, the former director of the OGE, told Politico the administration reverted to a 1993 OGE guideline permitting anonymous donations that was long advised against but never formally stricken from official policy.

Schaub told Politico, “It’s very depressing. It’s unseemly for the ethics office to be doing something sneaky like that.”

Marilyn Glyn, the agency’s acting director under George W. Bush who spent 17 years in the office, told Politico,

“It wasn’t in the interest of the public to have people guessing who really is donating here. We preferred more sunshine in the process.”

The White House later issued a statement saying it was not soliciting legal defense funds or pushing to allow anonymous donations.