On the Agenda: Looking for Conflicts of Interest Among Agency Officials

Welcome to the October 2022 edition of our newsletter!  In this issue, we’ll examine the potential for conflicts of interest to arise among politicians and other public officials, and how to identify those conflicts.

Brightening Up Dark Corners: Shining Light on Official Finances

Officials at all levels of government wield significant power over the industries, and individuals, who they regulate.   Yet often, those parties have no insight into what agendas the regulators might bring to the table.  Whether an administrative law judge hearing an environmental regulatory dispute or a member of Congress sponsoring a bill about trade with China, human beings bring the entirety of their experience to a decision, not just the strictures of their official role.

Recently, reforms have been put in place to require greater disclosure from federal judges about their finances, those of their spouses, and other areas where conflicts of interest could arise.  Federal office holders have been required for nearly 50 years to report such information.   Yet when it pertains to the agency officials who are most often involved with crafting opinions or rulings that inform public policy, there is no central public record resources.  Recently, The Wall Street Journal compiled its own database concerning the federal executive branch, culled from records of more than 850,000 senior level federal agency employees, strengthening the trend of transparency about those who shape the decisions which affect everyone’s future.

Beyond the three branches of federal government, however, the picture is much murkier.  In many states, county or state court judges must file similar disclosures, to indicate whether they or their spouse have a business interest, investment, or paid affiliation which could skew their official judgment.   Given the patchwork nature of regulations about disclosures at this level, thorough research is required if your client needs to better understand an official’s history.  Did they ever represent someone in a manner that would be adverse to the situation before them?  Did they ever make comments publicly about an issue which could be inferred as creating bias in their judgment?  Understanding an official’s history, as well as the records you can obtain about their finances, can help you understand if their past dealings could affect their future actions.