Updated December 15, 2018 Corruption & Self-Dealing
Major Abuse of Power
Ryan Zinke's Interior Department: Ethics Violations, Developer Deals, Land Monuments Gutted
Zinke used government aircraft for personal travel, including a trip to attend a hockey game and a flight to meet a donor. He pursued a real estate development near his Montana property with a company connected to Halliburton CEO David Lesar — while Halliburton had business before the Interior Department. He intervened in tribal gaming compacts in Connecticut to benefit a political donor's competing casino operation. He reduced Bears Ears National Monument by 85% and Grand Staircase-Escalante by nearly half — the largest rollback of protected federal land in U.S. history. He resigned in December 2018; the DOJ referred his conduct for further investigation.