Last night, White House Communications director Anthony Scaramucci tweeted that he would be contacting the Department of Justice over the leaking of his financial documents, while also alluding to knowing who he thinks is the culprit: White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus. CNN was saying the reference to Priebus was cryptic, but New York Magazine’s Ryan Lizza said it’s not, he truly feels that Reince was behind the leaks (Via Politico):
In light of the leak of my financial disclosure info which is a felony. I will be contacting @FBI and the @TheJusticeDept #swamp @Reince45
— Anthony Scaramucci (@Scaramucci) July 27, 2017
The incoming White House communications director earned $4.9 million from his ownership stake in SkyBridge in addition to more than $5 million in salary between Jan. 1, 2016, and the end of June, when he joined the Export-Import Bank, according to a financial disclosure filed with the Office of Government Ethics. The disclosure form hasn’t been previously reported.
The disclosure highlights the extensive wealth Scaramucci has accumulated in his career — much like many of Trump’s other top advisers and Cabinet secretaries — and also the challenge he faces in extracting himself from the potential conflicts his investments could pose.
The SkyBridge website continues to advertise Scaramucci as the firm's managing director, despite the fact that he has been a government employee for more than a month.
A SkyBridge spokeswoman said Scaramucci stepped down from the executive post Jan. 17, when the company’s sale was announced. He remained an employee of the firm, collecting a salary, until starting at Ex-Im last month. The investment firm, which Scaramucci founded in 2005, is in the process of being sold to RON Transatlantic and Chinese conglomerate HNA Group. The sale, set in motion in January when Scaramucci was shedding his holdings in anticipation of landing an administration job, has drawn the scrutiny of regulators and is taking longer than expected to close.
In case there's any ambiguity in his tweet I can confirm that Scaramucci wants the FBI to investigate Reince for leaking.
— Ryan Lizza (@RyanLizza) July 27, 2017
JUST IN: DOJ releases statements on leaks after @Scaramucci says he will contact FBI over his leaked financial docs. pic.twitter.com/8BA2LEoWeS
— Paula Reid (@PaulaReidCBS) July 27, 2017
At the same time, to call this a leak is a bit of a stretch. As some noted on social media, this isn’t classified information we’re dealing with here. It’s a financial disclosure form, which means it was going to be made public. It’s not a felony. Regardless, the DOJ did say it will look into this matter.