A former high-ranking official at the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) has allegedly breached federal ethics regulations by improperly maintaining investments in prominent oil corporations Exxon Mobil and Chevron, as indicated in a report released by the agency’s Office of Inspector General on Tuesday.
Tommy Beaudreau, who held the position of deputy secretary at the DOI under President Joe Biden until his resignation in 2023 amid pressure from environmental advocates, reportedly neglected to oversee his investments in these major oil firms, resulting in an unintentional conflict of interest, according to the report. It reveals that Beaudreau’s financial advisor executed unauthorized transactions involving ExxonMobil and Chevron stock in June 2022, of which Beaudreau was unaware until a year later.
Notwithstanding his financial interests in these companies, Beaudreau is said to have participated in a regulatory meeting on June 14, 2023, that impacted both Exxon and Chevron. This meeting focused on new safety regulations for oil and gas well operations in the Gulf of Mexico, a measure taken in response to the Deepwater Horizon incident. Beaudreau informed agency ethics officials that he did not advocate for any modifications to the rule during this meeting.
At the time of the stock purchases, the value of the Exxon shares was approximately $4,920, while the Chevron shares were valued at around $4,880, as noted in the report.
“Beaudreau was prohibited from owning these investments in any amount without a waiver from the DAEO [Designated Agency Ethics Official]. Beaudreau told us that he did not authorize Portfolio Manager to make these purchases, and we found no evidence that he did so,” the report said.
In our latest report, we summarize findings that a former @Interior Deputy Secretary failed to monitor his investments or recuse himself from a matter in which he held financial interests. https://t.co/Ph7xm7QAaf
— DOI OIG (@doioig) October 1, 2024
Beaudreau identified unauthorized stock transactions in his investment account on June 11, 2023, which included shares of ExxonMobil and Chevron, while preparing his annual public financial disclosure, as indicated in the report. Subsequently, he directed his portfolio manager to reverse these transactions and notified the Designated Agency Ethics Official (DAEO) on June 13, 2023. This action resulted in an extension of the disclosure filing deadline to July 13, 2023. The third-party brokerage firm responsible for the stock purchases later liquidated 39 shares on June 15, 2023, which included the unauthorized acquisitions of ExxonMobil and Chevron for Beaudreau’s joint investment account, according to the report. These shares, which were held from June 22, 2022, until June 15, 2023, were classified as a “trade error” by the firm, thereby removing them from Beaudreau’s portfolio effective June 16, 2023.
“We concluded that Beaudreau failed to monitor purchases made by Portfolio Manager or recuse from the particular matter in which he held a financial interest as required by his Ethics Agreement and Certification of Ethics Agreement Compliance,” the Office of Inspector General said. “We concluded that Beaudreau violated 18 U.S.C. 208 when he participated in the Well Control Rule meeting on June 14, 2023.”
