WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Top officials from the Biden administration had previously not disclosed ties to major corporations, including technology giants Microsoft Corp, Alphabet’s Google and Facebook Inc, financial disclosures by the White House.
According to the documents filed with the Office of Government Ethics, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan served on an advisory board for Microsoft from 2017 to May last year. He received $ 45,000 last year, a copy of which was seen by Reuters.
Sullivan, who oversees an interagency response to the January cyberattack on Microsoft Exchange email software, owns between $ 50,000 and $ 100,000 in shares in both Microsoft and Alphabet, and owns between $ 15,000 and $ 50,000 in Facebook stock, according to the unveiling.
The White House said in a statement Sunday that officials such as Sullivan are “experienced government leaders whose past experience in the private sector is part of a wide and diverse skill set they bring into government service.”
A White House official said Sullivan does not participate in decisions that directly affect Microsoft, has not been in contact with the company, and is consulting with NSC attorneys to continue to comply with ethical requirements.
The official said Sullivan is divesting all of his shares.
A Microsoft spokeswoman said that “individuals across the political spectrum are providing the company with ideas and advice on a variety of national policy issues.”
Press Secretary Jen Psaki received at least $ 5,000 as a communications consultant for Lyft Inc. The White House official said the advice involved writing a plan and took about six months.
The revelations were first reported by the Associated Press.
Key officials in the Trump administration had links with Wall Street, the oil and gas industry and the real estate sector.
Reporting by Nandita Bose; Editing by Daniel Wallis