The Department of Interior inspector general ruled that Donald Trump’s first Interior Secretary, Ryan Zinke, used the power of his office to benefit himself, his friends and his family, the Associated Press reports.
The issue revolves around an organization Zinke helped found, the Great Northern Veterans Peace Park Foundation, which had the mission to establish a park on a piece of land donated by the BNSF Railway company.
When Zinke took office, he stated he had cut ties to the foundation to avoid conflicts of interest, however the inspector general determined that Zinke continued to work on behalf of the foundation and engaged in negotiations on behalf of a personal project to develop a portion of the donated land into a retail center, including a microbrewery.
Zinke, who refused requests from the IG’s office to cooperate with the investigation, used his Interior Department staff to arrange repeated meetings in his Washington, DC office with potential developers of the site, and he had staffers make plans for dinners and tours of the Lincoln Memorial for his guests.
While in office, Zinke was known for exalting in the office of the Interior Secretary, including holding a photo op to show him riding a horse to work and insisting that any building he entered fly the official flag of the Secretary of the Interior from the roof.