Poor Richard. In January, a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request revealed that Director Richard Cordray, head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), used a private device for government communications with CFPB employees. And he failed to report these messages to the agency—a clear violation of government policy.
An even more recent FOIA investigation unearthed private communications between Cordray and Eileen Mancera, a longtime Clinton donor and Democratic lobbyist. An analysis of Cordray’s text messages shows the CFPB head communicating with then-CFPB staffer Rohit Chopra—a former senior fellow at the left-wing Center for American Progress—to set up a conversation with Mancera. She happens to have “extensive experience as a political fundraiser,” having raised more than $1 billion for Democratic candidates, including more than $100,000 for Hillary Clinton in 2016. Cordray apparently used a private device (a la Hillary Clinton) to hide his messages with a Democratic power player.
Yet Cordray describes the CFPB as “an independent agency,” one “kept separate from partisan politics or big-money special interests.” Come on, Mr. Cordray.