The Intercept: Trump Army Appointee Should Sell His Anduril Stock, Sen. Warren Demands

Sen. Elizabeth Warren is calling for President Trump’s pick for Under Secretary of the Army to sell his stock in a defense contractor that experts say would pose a clear conflict of interest.

In a federal ethics agreement first reported by The Intercept, Michael Obadal, Trump’s pick  for the second most powerful post at the Army, acknowledged held equity in Anduril Industries, where he has worked for two years as an executive. Obadal said that contrary to ethics norms, he will not divest his stock, which he valued at between $250,000 and $500,000.

In a letter shared with The Intercept in advance of Obadal’s confirmation hearing Thursday, Warren, D-Mass., says Obadal must divest from Anduril, calling the current arrangement a “textbook conflict of interest.”

Warren, who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, writes that Obadal’s stock holdings “will compromise your ability to serve with integrity, raising a cloud of suspicion over your contracting and operational decision.”

“By attempting to serve in this role with conflicts of interest, you risk spending taxpayer dollars on wasteful DoD contracts that enrich wealthy contractors but fail to enhance Americans’ national security,” Warren writes.

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