Ethics officials granted a conflict of interest waiver to an unnamed official at the Securities and Exchange Commission, allowing them to hold on to stocks in Alphabet, Meta and Microsoft despite their work on an investigation that could involve the companies.
The waiver, which has not been previously reported, grants the SEC official permission to maintain the stocks even though they “likely” need to send subpoenas and document requests to the companies as part of an investigation into “an unrelated party.”
Federal law bars government employees from participating in official matters that could be compromised by their financial interests. They can secure a waiver, however, if their financial interest is deemed “too remote or too inconsequential” to compromise the integrity of their work.