Ethics Watchdog Faults Mnuchin Over Wife’s Film Company

(Bloomberg) -- The top federal ethics watchdog declined to certify a disclosure filed by the U.S. Treasury Secretary but accepted a revised ethics agreement in which Steven Mnuchin promised to recuse himself from matters concerning a film production company owned by his wife.

Mnuchin sold his interest in the company, called Stormchaser Partners LLC, to Louise Linton in May 2017 to comply with federal ethics rules. The sale, worth at least $1 million, was made shortly before the couple married.

Under federal ethics laws, a spouse’s interests in an asset are imputed to a government official. When Mnuchin married Linton in June 2017, he reacquired an interest in the company, OGE explained in a letter to Iowa Republican Senator Chuck Grassley, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee.

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