Donald Trump's choice to head up the Commerce Department, created to further U.S. competitive industry, has been moved to the full Senate by the Senate Commerce Committee but he is not out of the woods yet.
According to a report from Politico, Howard Lutnick, the wealthy chairman and CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, has a cloud over his nomination due to his involvement in a sports gambling business that led to criminal charges.
As Politico is reporting, Lutnick had a hand in founding a Nevada company that allowed people to make bets by phone which eventually led to charges of state and federal law violations, with one top executive pleading guilty to illegal gambling conspiracy charges.
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That, in turn, has tainted Lutnick who, the report notes was not what one could call an absentee owner, with the report noting, "Cantor Gaming admitted to committing a host of crimes, including money laundering and aiding and abetting the operation of an illegal gambling business," in a 2016 settlement with the DOJ.
"He [Lutnick] traveled regularly to Nevada to oversee the company’s operations, according to three people with direct visibility. And even as scandal began to swirl around the business, Lutnick helped push state lawmakers to pass a novel gambling law that allowed people to pool their money to bet on sports as part of their investment portfolios," Politico is reporting before adding, "Scrutiny of Lutnick’s past stewardship of Cantor Gaming comes as senators are considering his nomination for Commerce secretary."
Reviewing Politico's background of Lutnick's involvement, Richard Painter, who served as ethics czar in the George W. Bush White House, suggested lawmakers should have concerns about Lutnick's links to the company and his judgment, saying they were "relevant to the ability to lead and to prevent illegal conduct from the people under your watch. I think that’s a critically important character strength and skill for a leader and certainly cabinet official.”
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