Lawyers for Housing and Urban Development warned agency chief Ben Carson against using his son to organize an event, given potential violation of federal ethics rules, The Washington Post reported.
Carson enlisted his son, Ben Carson Jr., and his wife to organize the event in Baltimore last summer anyway, part of the elder Carson's "listening tour," the Post reported, citing documents it obtained via a Freedom of Information Act request.
"I expressed my concern that this gave the appearance that the Secretary may be using his position for his son's private gain," Linda Cruciani, HUD's deputy general counsel for operations, wrote in a memo, the Post reported.
Further, Carson Jr. and his wife, Merlynn, invited people to the listening tour with whom they had business dealings and sat in on official HUD meetings, the Post reported.
As did Ben Carson's wife, Candy, the Post reported.
"It's deeply troubling that Secretary Carson would ignore ethics guidance from his own HUD attorneys and opt to mix family business interests with his official duties," Guillermo Mayer, a public advocacy lawyer, told the Post.
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