
Kellyanne Conway complained that ethics disclosure forms are too much of a burden for prospective staffers in the Trump administration, and that ethics requirements are discouraging applicants for positions.

Top Donald Trump aide Kellyanne Conway complained that White House staffers having to fill out financial disclosure forms has led to people being "completely demoralized" and is "really disincentivizing good men and women" from working there.

Conway's comments came in an appearance on Trump's favorite television show "Fox & Friends," on the pro-Trump propaganda network, Fox News. She was responding to a question about White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci's online meltdown, in which he accused White House chief of staff Reince Preibus of leaking his financial information.

Conway whined that the disclosure forms are a burden on staffers. The requirement that they disclose their assets and divest from them, she said, are discouraging people from serving in the Trump administration.

CONWAY: There are so many qualified men and women who wanted to serve this president, this administration, and their country who have been completely demoralized, and completely, I think, disinclined to do so based on the paperwork that we have to put forward, divesting assets, the different hoops you have to run through because this White House is transparent and accountable, and we've all complied with those rules. It's really disincentivizing good men and women. I hope it doesn't disincentivize Anthony.


These same disclosure requirements are being disrespected and disregarded at the highest levels. Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, has been caught several times omitting meetings with Russian operatives from his disclosures, while both he and his wife, Ivanka Trump, did not disclose millions of dollars in assets from their forms.

Donald Trump himself has failed to divest his holdings, and has been sued for violating the Constitution's emoluments clause, as he continues to enrich himself by holding campaign events at his own hotel a few blocks away from the White House. Foreign entities have also used the pipeline of money from the hotel to Trump to try and influence his administration.

While requesting the bare minimum of ethics appears to be such a burden on Trump and his hangers-on — unlike previous administrations of both parties — the fog of scandal, corruption, and rank incompetence that is the daily reality of this White House is also repelling candidates for administration positions.

The Trump team has tried to evade standard requirements, and now they're complaining that the compliance expected of every previous administration is somehow unfair. It seems ethics are an undue burden in the eyes of the Trump administration.