The Office of Government Ethics had trouble connecting with Trump's transition team by Daniel Chaitin on Jan 8, 2017, 1:45 PM Advertisement
 Newly released emails show the Office of Government Ethics sometimes struggled to make contact with the Trump transition team, according to a report released early Saturday. The emails suggest President-elect Trump's team frustrated the independent agency tasked with ethics laws and regulations when asked to cooperate on matters of potential conflict and financial disclosure of Trump's Cabinet picks. "They run the risk of having inadvertently violated the criminal conflicts of interest restriction at 18 USC 208," Office of Government Ethics Director Walter Shaub wrote in one email to Trump Transition aide Sean Doocey. "If we don't get involved early to prevent problems," he said, "we won't be able to help them after the fact." Schuab warned of "embarrassment for the President-elect" should he announce Cabinet nominees without first allowing the ethics office review their financial information. He also said the Trump team faced risked perils of developing its own "blind trust" without the proper engagement with the ethics office. The emails were obtained as part of a Freedom of Information Request by MSNBC and the Madison Project. Despite some lapses, Trump transition officials have provided financial information and email responses to the ethics office, which the NBC report said reflected "a cooperative approach on many issues." The FOIA requests revealed little in Trump's plans to to divest from his company before taking office, the report said. SEE ALSO: House GOP reverses course on gutting ethics office after Trump takes a whack at them
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