A senior Biden administration adviser has been told that she will need to recuse herself from consulting on a number of high profile policy issues because of her work representing major entities like Pfizer and the American Clean Energy Corporation.
CNBC reported this week that Anita Dunn, who joined the Biden administration in May as a senior adviser will also need to divest from a large investment portfolio, estimated to be valued at between $16-$48 million after the release of her financial disclosures.
The move to recuse herself from certain policy issues and divest from her investment portfolio comes after warnings from lawyers that her portfolio and corporate ties could constitute a conflict of interest.
The filings reveal that Dunn has worked for major entities like AT&T, Micron, the American Clean Power Association, Lyft, Pfizer, Reddit, and Salesforce. The filing also reveals work for the Ford Foundation, Valerie Biden Owens, and the Center for American Progress.
The investment portfolio, held in conjunction with her husband and former Obama administration lawyer Bob Bauer, has a number of individual stocks in brokerage accounts, and corporate and municipal bonds.
“The ethics rules require White House officials to recuse from matters that conflict with their financial interests. When officials have a large scope of duties and an even larger stock portfolio, sunlight is the best disinfectant,” said Kedric Payne of the Campaign Legal Center.
Two of the entities, the American Clean Power Association and Pfizer, have been linked to contentious Biden administration policies.
The American Clean Power Association describes itself as “the leading federation of renewable energy companies expediting the advancement of clean energy as the dominant power source in America.” It has often praised Biden for his stances on environmental issues.
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