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Mary Kendall, the Interior Department's deputy inspector
general, told Senator Ron Wyden in a letter, a copy of which was
seen by Reuters, that it received seven complaints from a "wide
assortment of complainants alleging various potential conflict
of interest and other violations when he was deputy secretary of
the department."
Kendall said her office had opened an investigation and was
continuing to gather information about the complaints. She did
not detail the other complaints against Bernhardt, a Republican.
Wyden and Senator Mazie Hirono, both Democrats, had urged the
inspector general in separate requests to investigate
allegations that Bernhardt had inappropriately blocked a U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service assessment of the effect of pesticides
on several endangered species. The service is an office of the
Interior Department.
Bernhardt, a former energy lobbyist, was confirmed by the Senate
last week in a 56 to 41 vote. He replaced Ryan Zinke who
resigned under a cloud of ethics investigations.
Wyden, who had pushed for a delay in Bernhardt's confirmation
vote, had also asked the Department of Justice to investigate
whether Bernhardt was in violation of lobbying disclosure laws.
"We now have an Interior Secretary who has been on the job for
one full business day and is already under investigation," Wyden
said. "With Bernhardt's track record and the number of
allegations against him, it's no surprise. At least now, the
American people will finally get the answers they deserve."
Bernhardt's critics, including environmental groups, have said
his previous work as a lobbyist could risk conflicts of
interest, unless he recuses himself from certain issues, because
he worked for companies that could benefit by opening up lands
to development.
The Interior Department, which employs more than 70,000 people
and oversees more than 20 percent of the U.S. land surface, has
been central to President Donald Trump’s "energy dominance”
policy of boosting energy production.
Interior spokeswoman Faith Vander Voort said Bernhardt "is in
complete compliance with his ethics agreement and all applicable
laws, rules, and regulations."
Vander Voort also said that the ethics office at the department
had already reviewed many of the accusations at Bernhardt's
request and determined that he was in compliance with his ethics
agreement and all laws.
(Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
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