Interior Secretary Zinke held private meeting with executives of a company he still owns shares in
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We're a year into the Trump administration, and scandals from nearly every administration appointee just keep coming. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke is a shareholder in a private Montana company that manufactures and sells firearms and advanced weapons materiInterior Secretary Zinke held private meeting with executives of a company he still owns shares in
We're a year into the Trump administration, and scandals from nearly every administration appointee just keep coming. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke is a shareholder in a private Montana company that manufactures and sells firearms and advanced weapons materials, a financial interest he did not disclose when nominated last year. In response to inquiries from HuffPost, both Zinke and the company, PROOF Research Inc., confirmed the secretary’s holdings, though the dollar value placed on them varied. This previously undisclosed holding comes to light after numerous decisions in his first year in office that benefited the hunting and gun industries. Zinke has been one of the gun lobby's most reliable allies across all issues, in this administration, but in this case the link is distinctly personal. Zinke had previously done consulting work for this particular company a half-decade back and currently owns only a token number of shares; Whether Zinke was obligated to disclose them depends whether his shares were worth more or less than $1000, back when he was writing up that paperwork. The company's primary shareholder asserts that they are not. But it's the second bit that's more troubling. Once again, it seems that any company based in Whitefish, Montana—the former congressman's hometown—has been getting a prince's treatment when it comes to getting government attention and contracts—and Zinke isn't troubled by federal conflict-of-interest laws when it comes to who he meets with. Read more