Watchdog seeks probe into Zinke gun-club outing

A government watchdog group asked the Federal Election Commission on Thursday to investigate Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke's appearance at Virgin Islands Fundraiser, and it plans to request that Interior's Inspector General probe what it contends is his "pattern of violations" of ethics regulations. The complaint letters from the Campaign Legal Center, which cite several POLITICO investigations as evidence, increase the scrutiny the former Montana congressman has faced over his habit of mixing official travel and political events in the Virgin Islands and the mainland. The Interior inspector general's office is already conducting a review of Zinke’s travel and campaign finance practices, which it expects to release by April.The Campaign Legal Center's complaints also flagged a previously unreported trip in September when Zinke and two Interior staff members stayed two nights at the Four Seasons Resort in Dallas while he spoke at an conference organized by the National Rifle Association, which had donated $4,000 to his 2016 congressional campaign. An Interior ethics officer signed off on Zinke and the staffers spending $195 per room per night, according to travel documents. During the trip, Zinke spent an hour at an “informal” luncheon w ith several oil industry executives and financial industry members who had contributed heavily to Trump’s presidential campaign...more