Justice Dept. Accuses Omarosa Manigault Newman of Ethics Violation
The complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia alleged Newman did not file a "termination" financial disclosure, a required filing for many executive branch employees after they leave public service.
June 25, 2019 at 05:31 PM
3 minute read
The original version of this story was published on National Law Journal
Omarosa Manigault. Photo: John Taggart/Bloomberg
Updated at 6:26 p.m.
The U.S. Justice Department is seeking civil penalties from Omarosa Manigault Newman for allegedly failing to file a certain ethics disclosure after she was fired by the White House.
The complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Tuesday alleged Newman, the former director of communications for the office of public liaison, did not file a “termination” financial disclosure, a required filing for many executive branch employees after they leave public service. Newman did file the “new entrant” financial disclosure.
U.S. government lawyers said then-White House ethics counsel Stefan Passantino reached out to Newman about filing the termination disclosure to comply with the Ethics in Government Act. That disclosure was not filed, according to the government's complaint.
Florida attorney John M. Phillips, representing Newman, said in a statement: “Once again, the White House chooses to abuse process and use the Department of Justice to carry out retaliation. The lawsuit alleges that Omarosa Manigault Newman 'knowingly and willfully' failed to file a report. This is untrue.”
Phillips accused the White House of withholding certain records that Newman said she needs to complete the financial disclosure.
“In order to provide a report, Omarosa Manigault Newman has repeatedly requested these and other documents which The White House and its Counsel's Office seized at her termination,” Phillips said in the statement.
The statement added: “Omarosa Manigault Newman cannot even get a straight answer about the amount of materials wrongfully possessed. This is premature, retaliatory and yet another attempt to silence a dissenting voice.”
The Ethics in Government Act requires certain federal employees, including those in the executive branch, to file public financial disclosures at the start of their employment, annually and at the time they leave.
The disclosures filed by Big Law partners entering government service provide a peek at compensation schemes and legal services provided to clients.
Newman, a former contestant on President Donald Trump's reality TV show “The Apprentice,” was fired in December 2017. Many media outlets reported the departure was an acrimonious separation.
The U.S. Office of Special Counsel this month accused White House counselor Kellyanne Conway of “repeated” violations of the Hatch Act, which restricts government employees from using public time for political activity. The White House has denied Conway violated the Hatch Act.
There's a hearing set for Wednesday in the House Oversight Committee addressing “violations of the Hatch Act under the Trump administration.” The White House has refused to allow Conway to testify at the hearing.
Read the complaint:
Read more:
Read the Report: Federal Agency Assails 'Repeat Offender' Kellyanne Conway
Conservative Big Law Veterans Raise Specter of Trump Impeachment
White House Counsel Pat Cipollone's Financial Disclosure Shows $6.7M Income
Stefan Passantino Punches Back Against Ethics Allegations
Trump's Former Ethics Czar Reflects on White House's Legal Challenges
This report was updated with comment.
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