“The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is the principal oversight committee of the House of Representatives and may at ‘any time’ investigate ‘any matter’ as set forth in House Rule X,” he wrote. Mr. Chaffetz asked Mr. Shaub to appear for an interview with the committee’s staff by the end of the month. Richard W. Painter, who served as an ethics lawyer in the administration of George W. Bush, said that Mr. Chaffetz was apparently trying to punish Mr. Shaub for criticizing Mr. Trump. It is political retaliation.”Attacks on the ethics office are rare. Mr. Shaub joined the office when Mr. Bush was president, and he was appointed to direct the agency in 2013 by President Obama.

Source: New York Times January 13, 2017 05:35 UTC