The materials in FOIA 2015-0755-F are a selective, not necessarily all inclusive, body of documents responsive to the topic of the FOIA. Researchers should consult the archivist about related materials. FOIA 2015-0755-F contains materials related special government employees (SGE). Congress created the SGE category in 1962 when it revised the criminal conflict of interest statutes....Read more
The materials in FOIA 2015-0755-F are a selective, not necessarily all inclusive, body of documents responsive to the topic of the FOIA. Researchers should consult the archivist about related materials. FOIA 2015-0755-F contains materials related special government employees (SGE). Congress created the SGE category in 1962 when it revised the criminal conflict of interest statutes. Congress realized it needed to apply appropriate conflict of interest restrictions to experts, consultants, and other advisors who serve the government on a temporary basis. However, Congress also decided that the government could not obtain the expertise it needed if experts are required to forego their private professional lives as a condition of temporary service. As defined in 18 U.S.C. § 202, an SGE is someone who is retained, designated, appointed, or employed to perform temporary duties, with or without compensation, for not more than 130 days during any period of 365 consecutive days. This designation does not apply to independent contractors. The Bush Presidential WHORM Subject and Staff and Office Files contain correspondence, printed material, and papers. The letters and memos in this collection include communications between administration officials and private individuals explaining conflicts of interest and related bylaws. There are also examples of letters sent to private attorneys from the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) describing application of criminal conflict of interest statutes. There are also memos explaining basic information about SGE. There is a copy of a story published in "The Washington Post" about Robert Teeter as political advisor to President Bush. It discusses potential conflicts of interest in the White House. Several papers are present among the documents. There are reprints of a paper presented at a 1981 OGE conference. It addresses the application of conflict of interest laws and regulations regarding SGE. There are also reprints from the Federal Personnel Manual describing how conflicts of interest statutes affect SGE. Other reprints explain the status of an informal presidential advisor, consultants to presidential nominees, and part-time advance personnel. There are also pages explaining OGE guidelines regarding special employees. Read less