A Brief History of of Lyin’ Ryan’s Scandals
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, February 22, 2022
CONTACT
press@montanademocrats.org
A Brief History of of Lyin’ Ryan’s Scandals
Ryan Zinke was too corrupt for Trump. What makes him think Montana wants him?
Helena, MT – Former US Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, and candidate for MT-02, misused his position to advance a commercial development project in Whitefish, MT, and then lied to agency ethics officials about his involvement, according to a recent report by the Trump-appointed Department of Interior Inspector General. This most recent scandal marks at least the 19th investigation of Ryan Zinke since his mere 16-month tenure at the Department of Interior. We’ve compiled a non-exhaustive list of some of Zinke’s troubling ethical decisions.
2017 – Zinke spent over $53,000 of taxpayer money on helicopter rides, including one to join then-Vice President Pence on a horseback ride, according to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.
June 2017 – Zinke booked a $12,375 charter flight from Las Vegas and billed it to taxpayers. He was returning from a hockey game with the Golden Knights team, owned, incidentally, by one of Zinke’s maxed-out campaign donors.
July 2017 – DOI opened an investigation into if Zinke attempted to coerce the Alaska Senate delegation into voting for Trump’s Obamacare repeal, implying that their vote would cost them energy projects in their state.
April 2018 – Zinke was sued by two different organizations for rolling back protection for the Sage Grouse. Conservationists accused Zinke of selling off “every inch of our public lands to the oil and gas industry.”
June 2018 – The DOI opened an inquiry into whether Zinke had “used his office to help himself,” after he was found to be involved with a real estate deal with the CEO of Halliburton. The head of the nation’s largest oil-services company and the man who was supposed to regulate it? That’s a conflict of interest if we’ve ever seen one.
March 2018 – Zinke staffed his “Made in America” Outdoor Recreation Advisory Committee with manufacturing executives and CEOs of companies with national park contracts. DOI staff flagged three of the committee members for having conflicts of interest because they stood to gain financially from their influence on national parks policies.
March 2018 – Zinke spent $139,000 of taxpayer money on new office doors.
February 2019 – A federal grand jury opened an investigation into whether Zinke lied to federal investigators about holding up casino permits for two Indian tribes, after meeting with lobbyists from MGM.
Here are just some of his Hatch Act investigations and violations:
Tweeting a photo wearing socks with Trump’s campaign slogan from his official account
Announcing at a press conference with Florida governor Rick Scott that he would exempt Florida from the administration’s offshore drilling expansion, shortly before Scott announced his candidacy for the Senate
Visiting a small town in Pennsylvania to announce how much funding the Trump Administration would be giving out, just days before a tight special election featuring a Trump-endorsed candidate.
“Ryan Zinke runs for office for one reason and one reason only: to enrich himself and his friends,” says Sheila Hogan, executive director of the Montana Democratic Party. “He’s never met a law or an ethical standard he wouldn’t break.”
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