IG Report Shows Ryan Zinke Received Ethics Approval For Travel. Media Report A Different Story

A leaked ethics report on Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s travel with his wife has been spun in the media as an indictment of Zinke’s judgement and ethics, but the actual report says no such thing. The Inspector General (IG) report, set to be released next week, reveals that ethics officials cleared Zinke to take his wife with him on trips in official government vehicles as long as space was available and no additional costs were incurred. In instances where Lolita Zinke’s presence cost taxpayers, the Zinkes reimbursed the government, according to the IG report obtained by The Daily Caller News Foundation. Politico posted an article on the leaked Inspector General report Thursday evening under the headline “Interior Dept. probe faults Zinke for travels with wife.” CNN reported on the IG report under the headline “Internal watchdog report: Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke broke agency policy with wife’s travel.” While department policy generally prohibits non-government employees from riding in official vehicles, Zinke’s case is different for a couple reasons. As the Interior secretary, Zinke must travel in an official government vehicle. That caveat led ethics officials to approve Zinke’s request to take his wife with him on official trips if space was available. Zinke is not technically bound by department policies because he can change them “with the stroke of a pen,” deputy Interior Secretary David Bernhardt and deputy Solicitor Edward Keable told investigators. Zinke updated the department’s policies in July after recognizing that his travel with his wife was “inconsistent with the department’s general motor vehicle policy,” according to a letter obtained by TheDCNF that Bernhardt sent to deputy IG Mary Kendall on Thursday in response to the report. Zinke asked Interior employees to look into the legal and ethical implications of making Lolita an official volunteer for the agency, according to the report...MORE