1、CRS Legal Sidebar Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Legal SidebarLegal Sidebari i Executive Branch Ethics and Financial Conflicts of Interest: Disclosure January 2, 2019 Recent media reports indicate that the 116th Congress may address government ethics reform, including conflicts of i
2、nterest among executive branch officials. Federal officials have a basic duty not to allow private gain to influence their government service, which includes “not holding financial interests that conflict with the conscientious performance of duty.” Federal statutes, as well as a code of conduct for
3、 executive branch employees, make this principle part of a federal regulatory scheme intended to prevent officials from benefitting personally from their offices. The current federal statutory scheme regulating conflicts between an officials personal financial interests and his or her official dutie
4、s has three prongs: disclosure, disqualification, and divestiture (i.e., a “3-D system”). This sidebar is the first in a three-part series examining conflicts of interest in the executive branch. Current Scope of Disclosure Requirements To make conflicts of interest between officials public duties a
