Scaramucci Says He'll Contact FBI Over 'Leak' of Financial Data

Incoming White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci says he was the victim of a leak of his financial information and is vowing to bring the matter to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

“In light of the leak of my financial disclosure info which is a felony. I will be contacting @FBI and the @TheJusticeDept,” Scaramucci said on Twitter Wednesday night.

The tweet came after Politico reported that the SkyBridge Capital founder had a net worth of as much as $85 million, citing a financial disclosure dated June 23 that he filed with the U.S. Office of Government Ethics. His tweet, which was later deleted, made no mention of the Politico article, and the document hasn’t yet been posted publicly by the ethics agency.

The message reflects in part an intensifying effort by the White House to crack down on unauthorized disclosures of information. President Donald Trump blames the leaks on unnamed adversaries within federal agencies who are determined to undermine him.

Scaramucci, a campaign fundraiser for Trump and an adviser during the presidential transition, said earlier this week that he would “fire everybody” if needed to stop leaks coming out of the White House press office.

“If they don’t stop leaking, I’m going to put them out on Pennsylvania Avenue,” he told reporters on July 25. “If you want to work in the West Wing you’ve got to stop leaking.”

The 1978 Ethics in Government Act requires senior-level officials to file public reports about their finances. OGE makes the documents publicly available after reviewing and certifying them.

Scaramucci entered an agreement to sell his stake in Skybridge in January, when he first announced that he’d be joining the administration. He earned $4.9 million from that holding in addition to more than $5 million in salary between Jan. 1, 2016, and the end of June, according to the Politico report. He was named communications director by Trump last week.

By tapping Scaramucci for a White House role, Trump capped a months-long saga that began before the inauguration. The financier’s name surfaced in connection with two previous administration appointments, neither of which came to pass. He took a job last month as chief strategy officer at the Export-Import Bank of the United States, a post that was widely viewed as temporary.

Scaramucci was offered a position with the administration in January, and has been working with federal ethics officials since then to “ensure that he divests all identified assets that could pose a conflict of interest under all federal laws and regulations,” said his attorney, Elliot S. Berke of Berke Farah LLP.