As Wilbur Ross Refuses to Testify Before Senate, RPT Asks “What is He Trying to Hide?”

Refusal by Ross is Latest in Pattern of Lying and Avoiding Questions

Washington– Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has refused to testify before the Senate Appropriations Committee next week. Ross gave no explanation for his refusal to appear, according to Politico. The Committee had invited him to testify on the Commerce Department’s budget.

“Secretary Ross seems to have almost as much trouble playing by the rules as he does telling the truth. What is he trying to hide?” said Lizzy Price, spokesperson for Restore Public Trust. “Is he trying to avoid answering questions about why he lied to Congress about adding the citizenship question to the Census? Or is he trying to avoid questions about his own personal financial disclosures? Sec. Ross serves the American people and by avoiding questions from their elected legislators, he’s shirking his responsibility.”

This isn’t the first time Ross has struggled with transparency. Earlier this year, the Office of Government Ethics rejected Ross’s personal financial disclosure after discovering that he had lied on it, and he even attempted to get out of testifying before the House Oversight Committee because he didn’t want to answer questions about his personal finances. And the reason he was asked to testify was because he was caught lying to Congress about his involvement in adding the citizenship question to the 2020 Census.

Earlier this month, Restore Public Trust launched a digital campaign called Where’s Wilbur’s Money? that highlighted Ross’s lack of transparency surrounding his financial disclosures.

Restore Public Trust has also filed 18 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to the Department of Commerce regarding Ross’s financial disclosures among other subjects, and has yet to receive any response.

Press Release

Wilbur Ross

Comments are disabled.