Johnny Kampis
Johnny Kampis
By Johnny Kampis
Watchdog.org
http://watchdog.org/266198/google-obama-ethics/

Some former Google employees-turned Obama administration officials may have violated the president’s own ethics policy in meeting with their former colleagues.

Megan Smith, now the nation’s chief technology officer, and Mikey Dickerson, U.S. digital service administrator, held meetings with their old running mates at Google less than a month after moving over to the White House. Smith met 10 times with Google employees, in total, while Dickerson held five meetings with his former colleagues.

Alex McGillivray, deputy chief technology officer, and Nicole Wong, former deputy chief technology officer, also each had one meeting with Google employees.

All four worked for Google immediately before moving into government work at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. The timing of their meetings raises questions about a policy Obama implemented a day after taking office.

On Jan. 21, 2009, Obama issued an executive order titled “Ethics Commitments By Executive Branch Personnel,” which has a “revolving door ban” clause that says:

“I will not for a period of two years from the date of my appointment participate in any particular matter involving specific parties that is directly and substantially related to my former employer or former clients, including regulations and contracts.”

While each executive agency appointee must sign an ethics pledge, the “Executive Order allows for a waiver when the literal application of the pledge does not make sense or is not in the public interest,” the White House website says. The site lists the people on that list, but Smith, McGillivray, Dickerson and Wong are not on it.

As he entered office, Obama said he aimed to create “the most open, efficient and accountable government in history.”

While White House visitor logs show that those onetime Google employees met with former colleagues, they do not reveal the substance of the conversations.

Obama’s White House door has certainly proven to be open to Google. As Watchdog.org previously reported, company officials have visited the White House an average of more than once a week since Obama took office. And there are more than 250 instances of Google employees going to work for the federal government or vice versa during that span.

Campaign for Accountability, which is compiling the Google Transparency Project, said the meetings between ex-Googlers and their former colleagues “raise questions about President Obama’s commitment to keep business interests from exercising undue influence on his administration.”

Silicon Beat, the tech blog of the the San Jose Mercury News, reported in July that Campaign for Accountability is part of the New Venture Fund, which is heavily funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Flora Hewlett Foundation. Silicon Beat also reported “there’s nothing to suggest either the Gates or Hewlett foundations had any knowledge that their beneficiary was attacking Google.”

The White House media affairs office didn’t return Watchdog.org’s call seeking comment on the meetings between ex-Google employees and their former colleagues. Google, through a spokesperson, declined to comment.

Consumer advocate John M. Simpson said the White House meeting data appears to “show flat-out violations of the ethics policy.”

“Given Google’s close relationship with the Obama administration it’s not surprising at all, unfortunately, and somebody needs to call them out on it,” Simpson told Watchdog.org.

“The White House owes the public an explanation.”

For more information, go to http://watchdog.org/266198/google-obama-ethics/.

Johnny Kampis is a content editor and staff writer at Watchdog.org. He previously worked in the newspaper industry and as a freelance writer, and has been published in The New York Times, Time.com, FoxNews.com and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. You can follow him on Twitter @TuscaloosaJohn or reach him via email at [email protected]