Congressmen and watchdogs have harshly criticized Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm for giving false testimony to the Senate concerning her ownership of stock, the Washington Examiner reported on Wednesday.
In a letter sent to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Friday, Granholm said she "mistakenly" testified in April that she "did not own any individual stocks," when she meant to say she "did not own any conflicting stocks."
Granholm also told the committee that her husband, Daniel Mulhern, owned shares in Ford Motor Company, something that had not been disclosed beforehand.
House Energy and Commerce Committee member Rep. Kelly Armstrong, R-N.D., slammed Granholm, telling the Examiner that "issuing a statement six weeks later without any explanation is unacceptable. It's one of two things at this point. She's either incompetent or lying."
He added that Granholm failed "twice to disclose her husband's stock in a company [Ford] that squarely falls under her authority."
Energy Department spokesman David Mayorga responded to the criticism by insisting that Granholm "always puts the interests of the American people first."
"As part of her commitment to the highest ethical conduct and transparency, Secretary Granholm timely divested of all conflicting assets that were known at the time of her confirmation, and subsequently even divested of assets she wasn't legally required to sell," Mayorga told the Examiner. "The secretary is focused on delivering an equitable clean energy future that will bring cheaper power, cleaner air, and more good-paying jobs for more Americans."
However, this is not Granholm's first ethical lapse, with Business Insider reporting last year that she paid a $400 government late fee after violating a federal conflicts-of-interest law by not disclosing up to $240,000 in stock sales.
"It seems that Granholm thinks the rules don't apply to her," right-leaning watchdog Functional Government Initiative spokesman Pete McGinnis told the Examiner.
The revelation about Ford stock and Granholm's husband may lead to watchdog organizations initiating probes to discover additional information, according to sources.
"These latest revelations are unfortunately just par for the course at Secretary Granholm's Department of Energy," said Michael Chamberlain, director of Protect the Public's Trust, a right-leaning watchdog. "It sure would be hard to convince anyone of the Biden administration's claims to be the most ethical in history by looking at Jennifer Granholm's department."
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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