DeVos aide cleared of conflict of interest charges

POLITICO

By LAURAINE GENOTA With help from Nicole Gaudiano and Michael Stratford

04/16/2020

EDUCATION DEPARTMENT IG CLEARS DEVOS AIDE OF CONFLICT OF INTEREST CHARGES: The agency’s inspector general concluded last year that Robert Eitel, who worked as a for-profit college executive before becoming a senior aide to DeVos, “did not appear to be in violation” of federal ethics laws, according to documents obtained by POLITICO under the Freedom of Information Act.

— Congressional Democrats have repeatedly criticized Eitel’s role at the Education Department, which under DeVos has rolled back a series of Obama-era policies targeting for-profit colleges. Democrats called for the inspector general to examine Eitel’s involvement in delaying the “gainful employment” and “borrower defense” rules.

— Notably, the report, which has not been reported previously, describes investigators’ frustration with what they said was the department’s “lack of cooperation” with the inquiry for months. For instance, it was only after the acting inspector general, Sandra Bruce, warned that she would tell Congress about the “non-cooperation” with the inquiry that Eitel agreed to be interviewed, according to the report.