The waiver to President Trump’s ethics pledge issued to White House chief strategist Stephen Bannon is “problematic,” the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) told inquiring lawmakers on Tuesday.

The issues stem from a waiver, posted to the White House website on May 31, that is unsigned, undated and lists the waiver as being retroactive to Trump's first day in office on Jan. 20.

“The putative retroactivity is inconsistent with the very concept of a waiver, which is to take decisions regarding the appropriateness of an employee’s participation in covered matters out of the employee’s hands. By engaging in a prohibited matter at a time when the appointee does not possess a waiver, the appointee violates the rule,” OGE Director Walter Shaub wrote in a letter to four Democratic senators.

“Although the White House may later decide that such a violation does not warrant disciplinary action, the subsequent issuance of a waiver would not change the fact that a violation occurred,” he continued.

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Bannon is not the only person included in the wide-ranging waiver, which allows all political appointees to the Executive Office of the President to “participate in communications and meetings with news organizations regarding broad policy matters.”

Prior to entering the White House, Bannon served as executive chairman of Breitbart News, a conservative media organization that had been pro-Trump during the presidential campaign.

Both OGE rules and the administration’s ethics pledge prohibit political appointees from participating in any “particular matter” involving former employers or clients, including having meetings or discussions “relating to the performance of one's official duties with a former employer or former client.”

The letter sent on Tuesday responds to an April inquiry from the group of Democratic senators that raised questions about communications Bannon reportedly had with Breitbart News earlier this year — including one report that Bannon had called an editor and “unloaded on him” after Breitbart published a piece critical of White House chief of staff Reince Priebus.

Breitbart Washington editor Matthew Boyle told The Hill the report, published in Business Insider, was false.

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On May 17, prior to the release of the ethics waivers, the group sent a letter to the OGE, asking about conflict-of-interest rules and whether Bannon had received a waiver and other procedural questions. In its response on Tuesday, the OGE wrote that Bannon had received “only a partial waiver,” allowing him to talk to his former employer but only if the subjects are about broad policy items.

He is still banned from “participating in any ‘particular matter involving specific parties’ in which Breitbart is a party or represents a party,” and meeting or communicating with Breitbart if the discussion hinges on “a particular matter involving specific parties,” the letter says.

Shaub said the ethics office is “aware of media reports regarding [Bannon’s] activities,” but it has not verified them or received any information indicates any ethics violation has occurred.

“It is important to emphasize that, as with other White House appointees, OGE is not in a position to have direct knowledge of Mr. Bannon’s daily assignments and activities,” Shaub wrote.

The independent ethics office writes ethics rules and guidelines for the executive branch, but does not have the ability to enforce them.

If a violation of OGE rules or Trump’s ethics pledge occurred, the agency would then urge the agency employing the person to investigate and consider disciplinary action. Should the agency decline, the only next step the OGE can take is to notify the president.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Trump’s ethics pledge, contained in an executive order, came along with promises that he would “drain the swamp” of the Washington influence industry.

The release of the waivers came immediately following a White House conflict with the OGE, which compiles ethics waivers from other agencies. The White House had questioned the OGE’s authority to request the waivers, but ultimately said the spat had been a misunderstanding.

Trump’s ethics pledge is aimed at cutting down on conflicts of interest by banning ex-lobbyists for two years from working on matters they dealt with for paying clients. It is based on a standard set by former President Barack Obama Barack Hussein ObamaObama warns of a 'decade of unfair, partisan gerrymandering' in call to look at down-ballot races Quinnipiac polls show Trump leading Biden in Texas, deadlocked race in Ohio Poll: Trump opens up 6-point lead over Biden in Iowa MORE.

Government watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) has called out the administration for Bannon's alleged relationship with his former media outlet.

“The purpose of the Ethics Pledge is to ensure government officials have no conflict of interest between their current and former employers,” CREW Executive Director Noah Bookbinder said in a statement prior to the release of the ethics waivers.

“If Bannon discussed White House matters with Breitbart, tried to drive favorable coverage of the White House with his former employer, and gave Breitbart favored access, that would be a serious problem and may have violated the Ethics Pledge he took when he joined the administration.”