A top House Republican has denied a request from the federal ethics chief for a public meeting to hear lawmakers’ grievances against him for speaking out against President-elect Donald Trump — but also backed down on calling him to testify in a closed-door interview similar to a deposition.
Instead, Walter Shaub Jr., director of the Office of Government Ethics, is scheduled to meet Monday with Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
.. Chaffetz sent Shaub a letter summoning him to appear before lawmakers for a transcribed interview that congressional staffers said would be similar to a deposition in a court case.
.. Chaffetz noted in the letter that the ethics office is up for reauthorization from Congress, a sentence Shaub’s supporters viewed as a veiled threat to strip the office’s funding.
.. Shaub responded to Chaffetz in a letter this week in which he pressed for a public meeting “to ensure transparency.”