New Ad Highlights Bernhardt’s Obfuscation as Conflict of Interest Questions Swirl

Western Values Project released a new ad highlighting Interior Secretary David Bernhardt’s series of lies to Congress and the public, noting that his obfuscation has been deployed to “benefit his former clients and monied special interests.” The ad is running in POLITICO tomorrow to coincide with Bernhardt’s testimony in front of the House Committee on Natural Resources regarding Interior’s budget and policy priorities.

“It might be hard to believe, but David Bernhardt is giving his scandal-plagued predecessor a serious run for his money on the number of lies and conflicts of interest he can rack up while running the Interior Department,” said Chris Saeger, executive director of the Western Values Project. “We intend to continue holding Bernhardt and other Interior officials accountable not just for the lies they spin, but also for the conflict-ridden decisions they make to benefit the corporate lobbyists and special interests who have no intention of protecting America’s public lands.”

Featured in the ad are several lies Bernhardt has told over the past months, all of which have led up to Interior’s own Inspector General opening an investigation “into several allegations of ethics violations” just four days after Bernhardt was confirmed by the Senate. Bernhardt’s mendacity includes:

• Testifying that he is not aware of a case in which Interior “purposely withheld or improperly delayed the sharing of scientific information with the public,” despite having “abruptly” blocked the release of a scientific report on the effects of pesticides on wildlife.
• Refusing to provide public documents, calendars and information requested by members of Congress, though records show meetings with representatives of fossil fuel, timber, mining and other industries.
• Claiming that he is “fully committed to following all ethics laws…,” despite acting to weaken the Endangered Species Act to benefit his former clients.
• Promising that Interior will “faithfully execute the goals of the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF),” despite Interior planning to sell public lands and cut LWCF’s budget by 95 percent.

Bernhardt has overseen some of the department’s most controversial public land decisions, including opening millions of acres of public lands to industrial oil and gas development and mismanaging America’s national parks during the historic government shutdown. He’s been involved in at least 17 scandals prior to his confirmation. Six other senior Interior political appointees are under also investigation for potential ethics violations.

More information on the former lobbyist and his conflicts is available at www.davidbernhardt.org.