The acting director of the Office of Government Ethics is defending federal employees against a survey that found a drop in trust over the perception of government corruption.
Acting Director David Apol described Monday how public servants can restore public trust by faithfully executing their jobs as the "custodians of the people's government" in a post on the OGE website.
"We build their trust by doing our jobs, faithfully. We build their trust by acting solely for the public good and eliminating conflicts of interests. We build their trust by telling the truth," he wrote.
"The good news is that most of you are carrying out the people’s business with honor and integrity. You’re keeping your oath. Thank you. Remember what is at stake and take pride in your service," he continued.
His remarks come after Transparency International released its US Corruption Barometer 2017, a report carried out between October and November of last year.
The report found that "the US government and some key institutions of power still have a long way to go to win back citizens’ trust."
Nearly 60 percent of those polled said they believe the level of corruption increased over the past 12 months under the Trump administration, "up from around a third who said the same in January 2016" under then-President Obama.
Apol, who referred to the survey in his post, condemned any serving within the government who are conducting themselves in a way that undermines the public's trust.
"[T]hose who are doing things that undermine the public’s trust, even if they don’t violate a rule, need to stop. Nothing you could gain economically or politically could possibly justify putting our democracy at risk. These are perilous times," he continued.
"So, keep your oath and earn the public’s trust. We, as public servants, hold our positions of trust 'for such a time as this,'" he concluded.
Apol’s predecessor at the ethics office, Walter Shaub
Walter Michael ShaubWith offshore drilling scheme, Trump's America looks like a banana republic Former ethics chief on Zinke exempting Florida from drilling: You’re making us a ‘banana republic’ Ex-ethics chief hits Trump: It's a privilege to serve us, not for us to vote for you MORE, resigned in July, saying President Trump
Donald John TrumpSchiff: Nunes gave Trump 'secretly altered' version of memo Davis: ‘Deep state’ existed in ’16 – but it elected Trump Former Trump legal spokesman to testify to Mueller about undisclosed call: report MORE has been a “very serious disappointment” from an ethics stand point.
"I have only got really good things to say about the ethics program that President Bush ran and the ethics program that President Obama ran,” Shaub said at the time.