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ETHICS IN THE TRUMP ERA: Come along here as we dig in deep on how a billionaire businessman looking to influence US trade policy met with his former lawyer—who now helps create US trade policy—despite an ethics rule that should have banned on such a meeting. Here is the rule 
It was just 10 days after President Trump was sworn in that a lobbyist for Barry Zekelman, a steel-tube-industry billionaire, reached out to a former lawyer for Mr. Zekelman. His former lawyer had just been named by Trump as acting United States Trade Representative. Can we meet?
HERE IS THE RUB: Stephen Vaughn, the general counsel at the United States Trade Rep. office, and then the acting head, lists ZEKELMAN as one of his former clients. You can't meet in private with former clients.
So what is a reporter to do? You request a copy of Stephen Vaughn's calendar? Did he meet with Zekelman? What does the agency do? It blacks out the meeting! NOT PUBLIC INFO.
Dead end? Nope. How about the sign in sheets, at the entrance to the building that serves as the headquarters to the Office of Trade Representative. Bingo.
Asked about meeting & ethics rule that would appear to prohibit it, Trade Representative office says that it was social greeting not a formal meeting. But Zekelman says he pressed Vaughn, his former lawyer, to move aggressively to block steel tube imports. And there was follow up
Here is the story, where this exchange is featured. A small part of the piece. This is the reporting behind it. Please read it. And share it. nytimes.com/2019/05/20/us/…
Ethics complaint has now been filed related to this sequence of events documentcloud.org/documents/6025…
