For a fourth time, former Trump-era Interior Secretary David Bernhardt has been cleared by the department’s inspector general of ethics charges made by his political foes.
Bernhardt, the Interior chief from 2019-2021, was exonerated of breaking his ethics pledge in handling a project known as the California Central Valley Project.
MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE DECLARES HERSELF MAGA’S VOICE IN CONGRESS
In a report from the department’s ethics office just released, investigators said, “We did not substantiate any of the allegations regarding improper conduct by Mr. Bernhardt. We also concluded that the evidence did not support the complainants’ allegations regarding the [department’s ethics office] review of Mr. Bernhardt’s potential conflicts of interest.”
The report, previewed for Secrets, is titled “Allegations of Ethics Violations by Former U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Were Not Substantiated.”
In February 2019, an ethics watchdog group and liberal Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Elizabeth Warren filed complaints claiming Bernhardt violated federal ethics rules by trying to weaken protections for fish to give California farmers access to water. They said he had earlier lobbied for the water district that stood to profit from the project.
As with three other earlier ethics complaints filed by his liberal critics and hyped by the media, Bernhardt was cleared. In the most notable case, he was cleared of playing a role in the U.S. Park Police emptying of Lafayette Park across the street from the White House of protesters so that former President Donald Trump could hold a photo-op at St. John’s Church in 2020.
GET THE INSIDER SCOOP FIRST WITH WASHINGTON SECRETS
His allies today called on those critics to apologize to Bernhardt.
“I am completely unsurprised to read today’s OIG’s findings that are an exoneration from baseless allegations hurled at former Secretary David Bernhardt. Bernhardt’s conduct while at Interior was a model of ethical compliance,” said Cole Rojewski, Interior’s former director of the office of congressional and legislative affairs.
“Bernhardt is one of the most law-abiding, ethically sound people I know, and these continued reports show he has always followed the letter of the law. Unsubstantiated allegations may make a flashy headline at the moment, but they sure don’t look very smart in the history books. Those who spent years attacking his character owe him an apology,” added Rojewski, a partner and co-founder of the RBW Group, a Washington-based communications firm.
