Can’t Help Herself? PPT Finds More Apparent Violations of Ethics Obligations by Commerce Secretary Raimondo

Watchdog Files Supplemental Complaint 

Today, Protect the Public’s Trust (PPT) filed a supplemental complaint with the Department of Commerce’s (DOC) inspector general against Biden-Harris Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, again calling for an investigation into apparent ethics violations involving her conduct related to her husband’s ties to the healthcare technology industry. As she was confirmed, the Secretary signed an agreement prepared by DOC’s ethics office stating that she would not be involved in certain types of matters impacting the financial interests of PathAI, her husband’s employer, including interests of PathAI as a “member of an industry sector or group.”

Since PPT’s initial complaint identifying instances where Secretary Raimondo had apparently been in positions to take action favorable to interests in the AI industry, PPT has reviewed additional documents and found further potential ethical misconduct by Raimondo involving PathAI. Emails from June 2021 revealed discussions between DOC officials and General Catalyst employees — a company that invested in PathAI — regarding Secretary Raimondo’s attendance at an event in Boston, Massachusetts, and the potential “healthcare IT” executives who would be invited. Included on the shortlist was Andy Beck, PathAI’s CEO, who would be nearby at the company’s headquarters in Boston. Secretary Raimondo’s calendar showed her meetings on June 30, 2021, the day of the event, included a “Discussion with Entrepreneurs and Founders” and a “lunch with industry executives” at the Mandarin Oriental in Boston. Business sectors to be highlighted included “Healthcare IT.” It is not difficult to see why Mr. Beck might have wanted to attend and, indeed, Raimondo’s federal filings suggest that PathAI performed increasingly well during her tenure as commerce secretary, thus bolstering her family’s wealth.

“When the Biden-Harris administration declared it would be the most ethical in history, they seem to have neglected to inform Secretary Raimondo, PPT director Michael Chamberlain said. “Or maybe she thought that her husband’s ‘very cool artificial intelligence start up’ was not in the AI sector. Either way, this appears to be yet another episode showing why the public’s trust in its government continues to plunge to new depths.”

###