REPORT: Loeffler Still “A Walking Conflict of Interest”

Despite attempts at damage control, Loeffler’s ethical conflicts make her “a poster child for Washington swampiness”

ATLANTA — Following this weekend’s coverage of her interview with a white supremacist-linked pundit, unelected “political mega-donor” Senator Kelly Loeffler is today facing a new Forbes report on her “minefield” of ethics issues that make her “a walking conflict of interest ” and “a poster child for Washington swampiness.”

So far, Loeffler’s efforts at “following the Trump playbook” to combat her growing scandals by blaming anything and everything but herself have done little to silence ethical concerns. As the report notes, Loeffler’s clean-up act of divesting from her individual stock holdings only meant her selling off “a sliver of the family fortune—while holding onto a stake in the core business, ICE.” She also refuses to follow “The Isakson Standard” and put her assets in a blind trust. 

And she still remains on the Senate Agriculture Committee “which as recently as last year held a full committee hearing on reauthorizing the Commodities Future Trading Commission, a government agency that regulates her husband’s business.” Meanwhile, Loeffler’s firm “has continued to lobby the U.S. Senate since Loeffler became a member.”

“It’s been months, and Senator Kelly Loeffler still won’t take real steps to stop being ‘a walking conflict of interest’ in the Senate,” said Alex Floyd, spokesman for the Democratic Party of Georgia. “While Loeffler continues to be ‘a poster child for Washington swampiness,’ Georgians are ready for Senate leadership that prioritizes Georgia’s needs first — not Senators’ stock portfolios.”

Read more about the Senate’s latest “walking conflict of interest”:

Forbes: The Richest Politician On Capitol Hill Is Likely Georgia’s Recently Appointed, Controversial Senator Kelly Loeffler

• In late March, with the stock market reeling from the effects of coronavirus, an explosive story took over the news: Members of the U.S. senate, who had received early briefings on the potential effects of the coronavirus, had dumped stock positions, allowing them to avoid massive losses. 

• No one had ditched more than newly appointed Georgia Republican Kelly Loeffler, who got rid of more than $20 million of shares from late January to March. Three months after becoming a senator, Loeffler was already a poster child for Washington swampiness.

• [Loeffler’s family] said they would get rid of individual stock holdings—a sliver of the family fortune—while holding onto a stake in the core business, ICE. That meant that, in the eyes of government watchdog Craig Holman, Loeffler remains “a walking conflict of interest.”

• Loeffler remains on the overarching [Agriculture] committee, which as recently as last year held a full committee hearing on reauthorizing the Commodities Future Trading Commission, a government agency that regulates her husband’s business.

• Loeffler could also face votes on nominations for appointees to the CFTC and the Securities and Exchange Commission, another agency that watches over ICE.

• [Citizens for Responsible Ethics in Washington’ Virginia Canter]: “She needs to do everything possible to mitigate against her ability to vigorously carry out that function. By her husband maintaining these interests, it really hinders her ability to be part of that function.”

• ICE has continued to lobby the U.S. Senate since Loeffler became a member.

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