Experts Say Psaki MSNBC Deal Raises Serious Ethical Concerns

Reports that White House press secretary Jen Psaki will soon leave government service to join MSNBC as a pundit raise serious ethical concerns, multiple experts told the Washington Examiner.

Rumors have circulated for months that Psaki has been courted by MSNBC and CNN as she simultaneously worked with the outlets as President Joe Biden’s chief liaison to the press. Those rumors came to a head Friday when Axios reported that Psaki was in “exclusive talks” with MSNBC to become a network pundit and to host a show on NBC’s online streaming platform around May.

“It bothered me when this sort of thing happened in the last administration and bothers me to see it happen in this administration,” Walter Shaub, former President Barack Obama’s ethics chief, told the Washington Examiner.

PSAKI DISMISSES ETHICS CONCERNS OVER REPORTS SHE’S LEAVING WHITE HOUSE FOR MSNBC

MSNBC reportedly won Psaki’s future services after besting CNN in a bidding war, according to Fox News reporter Jacqui Heinrich.

Caitlin Sutherland, the executive director of the conservative watchdog group Americans for Public Trust, said reports of Psaki’s imminent departure to join MSNBC are concerning.

“A serious conflict of interest can arise when a sitting press secretary leverages her position to negotiate employment with a media outlet,” Sutherland told the Washington Examiner. “Unless the White House takes strict, material steps to ensure Ms. Psaki is in full compliance with laws, a simple press conference could turn into serious legal and ethical consequences.”

Shaub said Friday that Psaki is required by federal law to recuse herself from any particular matters affecting MSNBC to prevent her from using her authority as press secretary to grant special favors to her reported future employer.

“There are some things a press officer might normally participate in that do directly affect the financial interests of a media outlet, such as deciding which outlets get credentialed to participate in White House briefings or giving an exclusive to one outlet, so I’m guessing they’re requiring her to recuse from any of those types of activities,” Shaub told the Washington Examiner.

“I think the White House should take this opportunity to offer the public some transparency into its thinking,” he added. “The White House should tell the public what types of things they’re allowing her to do and what parts of her job she won’t be able to do as a result of this employment arrangement.”

Psaki’s last one-on-one interview with MSNBC was March 2, and her last appearance on CNN was an interview with Jake Tapper on Jan. 20, according to a search of Grabien’s cable news archive.

Psaki said during a White House press briefing Friday that she has made recusals as a result of her negotiations with possible employers, but she didn’t provide any specifics.

“As is standard for every employee of the White House, I have received rigorous ethics counseling, including as it relates to any future employment,” Psaki said. “I’ve complied with all ethics requirements and gone beyond and taken steps to recuse myself from decisions as appropriate.”

The White House did not return requests for comment.

Michael Chamberlain, the director of the conservative watchdog group Protect the Public’s Trust, also said Psaki should recuse herself from matters involving prospective future employers.

“When active negotiations, which certainly includes a bidding war, are ongoing, there is a duty to recuse from certain particular matters involving the prospective employer. Protect the Public’s Trust will be looking into this to ensure all the proper procedures and protocols were followed,” Chamberlain said.

Psaki dismissed ethical concerns surrounding her reported job negotiations during her press briefing Friday, saying she has “always gone over and above the stringent ethical requirements of the Biden administration.”

However, Psaki admitted to violating a federal ethics law as recently as December, when the Office of Special Counsel found that she had violated the Hatch Act for endorsing failed Virginia gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe in her official capacity in October.

White House officials leaving government service for lucrative cable news gigs is something of a tradition in Washington, D.C.

Symone Sanders, a former spokeswoman for Vice President Kamala Harris, will host an MSNBC weekend show starting in early May following her departure from the administration in January.

Kayleigh McEnany, a former press secretary for former President Donald Trump, was condemned by ethics watchdogs after she revealed in her termination financial disclosure that she had worked out an “employment agreement” with Fox News while working in the White House.

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Sean Spicer, another Trump press secretary, has a show on Newsmax that launched over two years after he left the administration.