Watchdog Requesting Investigation Into Rogue CFPB Lawsuit

Secret funding for lawsuit could qualify as a prohibited gift

A transparency and accountability watchdog is asking the inspector general's office of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to launch an investigation into reports that the deputy director may be using government time to further her personal lawsuit against President Donald Trump and questions if the anonymous funding of that lawsuit violates ethics laws against receiving gifts in office.

CFPB deputy director Leandra English is suing the administration in hopes that a judge will order her to be installed as the bureau's acting director in place of the current acting director Mick Mulvaney, who was appointed by the president. Mulvaney also currently serves as the director of the Office of Management and Budget.

The Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust sent a letter Monday to the CFPB's IG and to the Office of Government Ethics saying that "recent evidence suggests that [English] may be using government paid time for personal matters" and that "she may have accepted gifts based upon her government position to fund her lawsuit."

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