Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., issued a formal request for an inspector general investigation into Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm after she admitted to making false statements about her stock ownership.
Barrasso — the ranking member on the Senate Energy and Natural Resource Committee — penned a letter Wednesday to Department of Energy (DOE) Inspector General Teri Donaldson, arguing that Granholm’s repeated financial mishaps required a probe. On Friday, Granholm quietly acknowledged that she owned individual stocks despite her past testimony and disclosures indicating the opposite.
“Secretary Granholm’s repeated noncompliance with established financial rules and regulations, in addition to her disregard for ethical standards, has contributed to the erosion of the public’s trust not only in her, but the Department of Energy as a whole,” Barrasso wrote to Donaldson.
“It is imperative that impropriety on the part of cabinet officials is taken seriously, the dignity of the offices in which they serve is upheld, and that officials are held accountable when they fail to follow the letter of the law,” he continued. “I respectfully request that your office determine the facts surrounding any impropriety in connection with the matter.”
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In addition, Barrasso, noted in his letter to the DOE inspector general that Granholm has boosted Ford projects while leading the agency, maintained shares of electric vehicle maker Proterra while the White House promoted the company, was found guilty of violating the Hatch Act, and violated the STOCK Act nine times by failing to disclose $240,000 worth of stock sales within the legally-mandated timeframe.
“Secretary Granholm lied to the committee about her family’s stock holdings,” Barrasso said Friday. “This comes after her failure to follow basic ethics and disclosure rules. This is a troubling pattern. It is unacceptable.”
“Three times you told me, and this committee, that you did not own individual stocks,” Hawley wrote to Granholm in his letter. “But we now know that was false. Last Friday, you informed the committee that you did own stocks at the time of your testimony on April 20, 2023. In fact, you still held stocks in six companies.”
“You then divested from these holdings on May 18, 2023,” he continued. “But you chose not to notify the committee until last Friday—over seven weeks after the hearing and at least three weeks after you sold these stocks. So I want to know: why?”
After Hawley sent his letter to the DOE, David Mayorga, the director of public affairs at the Department of Energy, vigorously defended Granholm in a statement to Fox News Digital.