Jennifer Granholm, the secretary of energy, acknowledged in a letter on Friday that she had misled lawmakers when she recently claimed not to own any specific stocks.
Granholm stated in the letter, which was delivered to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee leadership, that she still owned interests in six firms even though she sold off a number of equities in 2021. Granholm, however, claimed in sworn testimony on April 20 that she had sold all of her stock in several corporations.
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In the letter acquired by Fox News Digital, Granholm stated, “As you know, as part of the confirmation process before this Committee, in 2021 I divested from assets that could be in conflict with my official duties.” “However, I did retain assets that Government ethics officials determined did not conflict with my official duties.”
“I should have said that I did not hold any conflicting stocks, but I misspoke when I informed the Committee that I did not own any specific stocks. “Even though these assets were deemed non-conflicting, on May 18, 2023, I divested my remaining stock holdings, which consisted of stock in six companies, in order to make my financial holdings consistent with my testimony,” she continued.
Earlier this year in Houston, Texas, during the 2023 CERAWeek conference, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm delivered a speech. (Aaron M. Sprecher/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Granholm promised to include that information in her Annual Public Financial Disclosure Report in mid-June but omitted to do so in the letter. On May 18, she divested from all of the companies from which she had previously owned shares.
Granholm further claimed that on May 13 she learned that her husband Daniel Mulhern possessed shares in Ford Motor Company worth $2,457.89. On May 15, a Monday, when the stock market opened, those shares were subsequently sold.
Granholm confessed she had erroneously believed her family’s divestment of Ford was complete in early 2021 and that she had neglected to report such shares in her two prior Public Financial Disclosure Reports. She added that on March 22, 2021, the Ford shares that she and her husband had in their retirement accounts had been sold.
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“As a public servant, I take very seriously the commitment to hold myself to the highest ethical standards, and I regret the accidental omission of my spouse’s interest in Ford,” said Granholm in the letter. “I made this commitment to you, to the President, and above all to the American people.”
“My spouse and I have double-checked our financial assets, and there are no other reportable assets that were omitted from my financial disclosure report,” she said in her statement of financial assets.
In April, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm swore under oath to Missouri Senator Josh Hawley that she did not own any specific stocks. (Getty Images)
John Barrasso, R-Wyo., the ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, criticised Granholm in response to the letter.
“Secretary Granholm lied to the committee about her family’s stock holdings,” Barrasso claimed in a statement to Fox News Digital. “This follows her disregard for fundamental ethical and disclosure guidelines. This pattern is alarming. It’s not acceptable.
All of the transactions described in the letter, according to Granholm, would be revealed in July on a Public Financial Disclosure Periodic Transaction Report.
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A spokesman for the Energy Department told Fox News Digital that Granholm was still dedicated to upholding “the highest ethical standards.”
The spokesperson stated, “The Secretary takes the commitment to uphold the highest ethical standards very seriously, which is why the Secretary moved quickly to divest non-conflicting assets along with an asset held by her spouse of which she was previously unaware.”
“The Secretary’s commitment to transparency and to leading a DOE that prioritises the needs of the American people over all else is underscored by the letter submitted to Congress clarifying the record.”
