Yet another Biden administration official is under the congressional microscope for alleged misdeeds, and this time it’s Department of Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) demanded answers Tuesday on corruption within the administration.
Granholm is the former Democratic governor of Michigan. She claimed she was simply mistaken in not revealing her ownership of a wide array of stock holdings.
But Hawley did not buy her explanation. He countered that her illegal actions amounted to “institutional corruption” and cited a watchdog group’s explosive findings that Granholm blatantly violated multiple federal laws during her tenure.
Hawley noted accusations that Granholm on nine occasions violated the Stock Act and ran afoul of the Hatch Act numerous other times. This prohibits public officials from being active in political campaigns or efforts.
The GOP senator has never been shy about questioning witnesses in the Senate. Hawley reminded the secretary that he previously asked her “point blank” if she held individual stocks, and she replied that she did not.
He continued, “It turns out that was false. You owned multiple individual stocks, and you neglected to report them to this committee for months afterwards. Why did you mislead this committee?
Sen. Josh Hawley slams Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm over stock ownership: ‘Institutionalized corruption’ https://t.co/7rr5HYNg9b pic.twitter.com/GdwQ94wmiy
— New York Post (@nypost) April 16, 2024
Granholm responded, “Oh my goodness, I believed that I had sold all individual stocks, and I was incorrect.”
Fox News reported that the secretary confessed to her ownership of six individual stocks in a June 2023 letter to the committee. She claimed to have sold them in May.
Addressing Hawley, Granholm said, “So I came back as soon as I found out that, in fact, I had not sold all individual stocks.”
To say that the senator was not impressed with the explanation is an understatement. Hawley continued, “Why did you mislead us and what were you hiding? Why did you wait so long? Why did you hide this?”
His skepticism may be justified by Granholm reportedly violating the Stock Act on nine different occasions in 2021. She filed a pair of reports with the Office of Government Ethics far outside of the window that is required to reveal these financial moves.
That window for government officials is 45 days in which to report such transactions.
