Trump Enables Musk Conflicts Of Interest And Endangers Public Identity Theft

 

This is from the Economic Policy Institute.

Summary: 

• By removing certain ethical requirements for civil servants, appointing billionaire Elon Musk as a “special government employee,” and granting DOGE unprecedented access to sensitive government data, Trump has created multiple avenues for Musk and his team to exploit their political positions for their own personal gain.
• There is no evidence of Musk filing ethics forms or addressing any potential conflicts of interest since his appointment as a civil servant. Trump said that Musk will identify his own conflicts, which is in and of itself a conflict.
• Musk and DOGE team members—who are working in government despite having clear private sector interests—now have unprecedented access to nonpublic data that is highly valued in the burgeoning data broker industry. Even if their data access yielded just 10% of the market insights provided by that data broker industry, it would be worth $43.4 billion.
• If Musk leveraged his access and influence to double the value of federal contracts awarded to his companies, he would capture $23.6 billion in federal spending.
• Musk and DOGE’s unrestrained and careless access to sensitive data like Social Security numbers will no doubt exacerbate the problem of identity theft in the United States. If current victimization rates doubled, identity theft would affect 50 million people and cost them $39.4 billion annually. 

  Conclusion

  Trump’s removal of certain ethical standards for federal service, his establishment of DOGE, and his appointment of Elon Musk as a special government employee have not only created opportunities for Musk and others to personally profit from public service, but have also increased the risks of U.S. individuals having their personal data mishandled or their identity stolen. Trump has allowed Musk and DOGE unprecedented access to personal and proprietary information across multiple federal agencies that could be enormously beneficial to Musk’s business dealings.

  Elon Musk, as a special government employee, should have filed multiple ethics forms, received briefings, and worked to address all conflicts, whether by recusing himself or divesting from certain assets. Instead, Trump stated that Musk will identify his own conflicts—a conflict of interest, in and of itself—and there is no evidence from the White House that he has filed any ethics forms. Further, Congressional Republicans have blocked attempts for oversight of DOGE and Musk (Nihill 2025). The guardrails that are usually in place to protect the public from compromised government decision-makers have been removed or disregarded to allow the richest man in the history of the world to influence U.S. government policy. All of this while Musk could potentially profit from access to personal data and federal contracts and potentially cost working people in the U.S. $39.4 billion annually in personal losses related to identity theft if data is mishandled.

Public Is Concerned About Musk And Trump Conflicts Of Interest

 

The charts above reflects the results of the Economist / YouGov Poll -- done between February 16th and 18th of a nationwide sample of 1,603 adults (including 1,451 registered voters). The margin of error for adults in 3.3 points, and for registered voters is 3.2 points.

Voters Worry About Trump Scandals And Conflicts Of Interest

 

The charts above reflects the results of the Economist / YouGov Poll -- done between January 19th and 21st of a nationwide sample of 1,426 registered voters, with a 3.1 point margin of error.

Our New Commerce Secretary Has A Big Conflict Of Interest

Each line represents the path of a ship in the Diamond S Shipping Group fleet in 2016. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross is a major investor in the company.

The following a part of an excellent article by Carrie Levine at the Center for Public Integrity. It outlines the huge conflict of interest that Wilbur Ross, the new Commerce Secretary, has. He will be making and forwarding policies that will financially benefit his own investments. Ms. Levine writes:

When private equity billionaire Wilbur Ross Jr. signed on to be President Donald Trump’s commerce secretary, he agreed to divest millions of dollars in assets.

But one asset Ross plans to keep is his stake in Diamond S Shipping Group Inc., one of the world’s largest owners and operators of medium-range tanker vessels, which crisscross the globe as crucial cogs in the transoceanic shipping trade. In a new administration full of successful businessmen dealing with a complex web of conflict-of-interest concerns, Ross’ part ownership of Diamond S Shipping stands out.

A Center for Public Integrity examination of Diamond S Shipping’s operations found its vessels sail under Chinese flags, even as Ross is being tapped to take an unusually muscular role shaping U.S. trade policy under President Trump’s "America First" mantra. The company has ties to a major Chinese investment fund, and one of its ships has traveled to an Iranian port.

Diamond S Shipping has also said it has — and may continue in the future to — “call on ports located in countries subject to sanctions and embargoes imposed by the U.S. government and countries identified … as state sponsors of terrorism, such as Cuba, Iran, Sudan and Syria,” according to its 2014 filingwith the Securities and Exchange Commission.

And one of Diamond S Shipping’s main customers recently acquired a stake in a Russian national oil company.

Ross has said he doesn’t believe the shipping investment presents a conflict. To take the Trump administration job, Ross agreed to step down from positions with the company, according to his ethics agreement, and plans to be a passive investor going forward.

Commerce Department spokesman James Rockas declined to answer specific Center for Public Integrity questions about Ross’ Diamond S Shipping investments, but emailed a statement that in part reads: “Commerce’s ethics officials provide the Secretary with ongoing guidance to avoid any potential conflicts of interest.”

Ethics lawyers offered a range of opinions on potential conflicts presented by Ross’ Diamond S Shipping investment.

Tom Fitton, president of conservative watchdog Judicial Watch, said the Diamond S Shipping stake represents but a tiny sliver of Ross’ assets, and the idea he would have to broadly recuse himself from his duties is “absurdity.”

But Richard W. Painter, who was a top ethics lawyer in the George W. Bush administration, disagrees: “That shipping company is going to be a big problem with respect to him being involved with trade under the conflict of interest statute.”

Diamond S Shipping is based in Greenwich, Connecticut, but is incorporated offshore in the Marshall Islands. The company lists a total 45 tankers on its website.

In 2011, Ross’ private equity company, WL Ross, led a coalition of investorsthat put about $1 billion into Diamond S Shipping. According to the company’s 2014 SEC filing, his private equity firm at the time was the company’s largest shareholder, with nearly one-third of the company’s shares.

It is impossible to determine the exact value of Ross’ stake in the privately held Diamond S Shipping based on his government-mandated financial disclosures. But the total value of assets he said he is not divesting, which includes investments in transoceanic shipping and real estate financing interests, together falls between $12.2 million and $36.5 million, according to the disclosures, which value assets within a range.