walter shaub jr. with us. i want to say that yesterday as i was driving -- perhaps more accurately, stuck in washington traffic listening to radio news and despite all the drama going on about health care, i was taken by the fact that so many of the news stories had words like, emoluments clause, ethics, rich people's problems, legal precedent, those kinds of phrases in story after story after story. all those stories had to do with president trump and his relatives. one had to deal with the new white house communications director and the pending sale of his company to chinese investors. so the question today, are these just rich people's problems or are they serious challenges to our democracy? our speaker today hopefully will answer that question a lot more. i'm told just earlier this month he was the director of the office of government ethics. o.g.e. is an independent agency that aims to prevent conflicts of interests on the part of government employees and works to resolve conflicts when they occur. mr. s

walter shaub, former director of the office of government ethics.nk you very much. >> thanks for having me. >> woodruff: now, a new study raises even stronger concerns about the risks of brain injury from the country's most popular professional sport. it's the focus of our weekly segment, "the leading edge," and hari sreenivasan has the story from our new york studios. >> sreenivasan: we've known about the dangers of hard hits and concussions from football, and that many players are suffering from c.t.e., or chronic traumatic encephalopathy. but yesterday, the largest study to date concluded that 110 of 111 former n.f.l. players who had died and donated their brains had c.t.e. these included former greats such as quarterback kenny stabler and linebacker dave duerson. researchers also looked at the brains of 202 former players, including high school and college players. 87% were found to have c.t.e. the n.f.l. released a statement. it said in part: "we appreciate the work for the value it adds in the ongoing quest for a better understanding of c.t.e.

walter shaub, jr., said he'll leave his post as head of the office of government ethics later this month and wilill taka job at a nonpartisan c campaign finanance reform group. shauaub told repteters he wasn't pressured d to resign, though h frequently cshshed with the white house e over his dememands thatat president trump d divestm his vast busininess holdings. this is walter shaub speakiningn janunuary about prpresidenent 's move to put his s holdings intoa trust opererated by his adult sons. >> this is not a blblind trust. not even close. i think politico call this a half blind trust, but it is not have way blind. billy ththg it has i in common with a blind t trust is s the ll "t"trust." his sons are still rurunning the business and he k knows what he owns. amy: after announcing his resigngnation, walter shaub said the office of gogovernmement ets is ill-equipped to prevent conflicts of interest, telling npr news -- "the current situation has made it clear that the ethics program needs to be stronger than it is." shaub's resignation n opens the door for president trumpmp to ne a repl

this is walter shaub speaking in january about president trump's move to put his holdings into a trust operated by his adult sons. >> this is not a blind trust. not even close. i think politico call this a half blind trust, but it is not have way blind. billy thing it has in common with a blind trust is the label "trust." his sons are still running the business and he knows what he owns. amy: after announcing his resignation, walter shaub said the office of government ethics is ill-equipped to prevent conflicts of interest, telling npr news -- "the current situation has made it clear that the ethics program needs to be stronger than it is." shaub's resignation opens the door for president trump to name a replacement to head the office of government ethics, pending confirmation by the senate. shaub's departure comes on the heels of the resignation of top justice department official hui chen earlier this month. chen is a former corporate compliance watchdog who wrote in a social media post -- "on my mind were the numerous lawsuits pending against the president of the united states for ev

did walter shaub resign in protest? he's joining us next. >> announcer: "this week with george stephanopoulos" brought to you by trivago. hey dad, come meet the new guy. the new guy? what new guy? i hired some help. he really knows his wine. this is the new guy? hello, my name is watson. you know wine, huh? i know that you should check vineyard block 12. block 12? my analysis of satellite imagery shows it would benefit from decreased irrigation. i was wondering about that. easy boy. nice doggy. what do you think? not bad. what do you think? and in this swe see.veryday act, when we give, we receive. ♪ >>> the government's top ethics official resigned this week. walter shaub will tell us why next. like the perfect deal... ...on the perfect hotel. so wouldn't it be perfect if there was a single site where you could find the right hotel for you at the best price? there is. because tripadvisor now compares prices from over 200 booking sites... ...to save you up to 30%... ...on the hotel you want. trust this bird's words. tri

walter shaub jr. with us. i want to say that yesterday as

in an interview with cbs after announcing his resignation, walter shaub said unless trump cuts all financial ties to his businesses, the american people can never be sure his policy decisions are based on what's best for the country. president trump turned over control of his businesses to hishis s son, but did not divest his business decisions. it focuses on campaign finance decisions. >> steve scalise remains in critical condition. med star center said he tolerated the procedure well. scalise was readmitted to the intensive care unit last night. he had been recovering for a shooting at the congressional baseball practice last month. several others were injured. he suffered the worst of the jurisdiction. >> over the last five days, seven people have been shot and killed in prince george's county. we learned the names of the latest victims. philipp michael and kenneth edmoe edmonds were arguing with each other and started with words and ended with gunshots. police say it's the latest in petty disputes guns. >> walk away from it. >> it's incomprehensible that people in our communities are use

walter: well, thanks for having me today. shaub, id, i'm walter and my focus is on ethics in general. prior to that i was with the office of government ethics and my focus was more specifically government ethics. i have worked -- i had -- i got to get used to the past tense -- worked at the office of government ethics since 2001 except for a couple of years when i went to a law firm in between. prior to that i had worked in a number of federal agencies and in fact even when i was in a law firm, my work involved federal agencies. career has whole been on federal service and federal employees and ethics more broadly. and in that context, i had a lot of time working with the government ethics program. i saw how it was supposed to work. what i can say unequivocally that ethics really has no party. both major political parties have always been incredibly supportive of the government ethics program and neither can really claim sole credit for having built it. that and -- and in fact as i worked with both the administrations of president

." >> former white house ethics director walter shaub outlined ways to strengthen executive ethics rules. he criticized the trump administration for not adhering to ethical norms that previous administrations have observed and what it might mean for the future.

so on repeated occasions this white house has attacked oge, attacked walter shaub and their surrogatesthe house of representatives and fox news and other places and going after walter as well. and all he's been trying to do is implement the ethics rules, the same rules we had under president bush and under president obama. he's not a partisan democrat or republican. i thought he was so good for us that he was a republican. but actually he's just an american who's trying to do his job. a very tragic situation. snee doesn't seem to be getting into it with anyone. he says when -- in all the work he's done he's worked with the white house on these things. they haven't worked against him. i want to play something to you from former campaign manager david bosse. he said this on fox news about the bits about the russians. >> this drip, drip, drip thing is just not working. and we need to have a group of people, a core group that come up and understand what everything is and put it all out there for better or worse so that it's over. >> i mean, richard, that's sort of part of your job when you

walter shaub repeatedly challenged the administration. the ethics program needs to be stronger, he says. the white house said a successor will be nominated soon. >>> now for a look at your weather. these funnel clouds in central ohio are the beginning of some severe storms moving into the ohio valley and eastern great lakes today. in the northeast there will be heavy rain for the morning commute from new york to philadelphia. some of the rain could be very heavy and urban areas could even see flash flooding. high temperatures, strong winds and low humidity are helping fuel 34 large wildfires in 11 western states. this one is in washington and burned thousands of acres. one said it spread with a vengeance. >>> still ahead a frightening incident aboard a delta flightover night. >>> some of the nuclear plants are the target of hackers. what's being done to protect them? >>> the big sale going on at one z2cpsz zi0z y2cpsy yi0y >>> you are looking at live pictures from hamburg, germany, where another day of protests is under way following viol

. >> reporter: walter shaub has been a unique voice. as the government's ethics chief, he's taken on his boss, president trump publicly, but today he gave up. >> i really feel like i've achieved all i can achieve under the current circumstances. >> reporter: he says that unless president trump eliminates all financial ties to his businesses, the american people can never be certain his policy decisions are based on what's best for the country. do you think the president and his family are using the office to enrich themselves? >> i can't know what their intention is. i know that the effect is that there's an appearance that the businesses are profiting from his occupying the presidency. >> reporter: but at this point, it sounds like you're saying you can't be sure. >> you can't be sure. so it almost doesn't matter whether they are profiting or not. america should have the right the right the right to know what the motivations of its leaders are. >> reporter: in previous administration, presidents operated under the radar. shaub changed

earlier this month, the government's ethics chief walter shaub told us he resigned partly over this very issue, which he tried to raise in november but said the president's lawyer shouted him down. >> one of the suggestions that we had hoped to communicate was that even if you're not going to sell them, maybe commit to staying away from those properties. >> reporter: since becoming visits to half a dozen trump properties in florida, virginia, new jersey, and d.c. he hasn't stayed at any non-trump resorts. today press secretary sean spicer was asked if trump brands would commit to stop manufacturing products abroad. he said it's not appropriate for him to comment on the president's business, but there are certain supply chains that may not be available in the u.s. anthony. >> thank you. >>> the department of homeland security announced today it's raising the number of h-2b visas this year from 66,000 to 81,000. these are temporary visas for foreigners to come to the u.s. to do seasonal non-farm work. but this one-time visa expansion may be too little, too late. here's strassmann. >> repor

also speaking today the government's top ethics watch dog, walter shaub.is director of the office of government ethics and last week announced his resignation from that post. shaub has repeatedly butt heads with the trump administration over conflicts of interest.walter shaub, director the office of government ethics"i really always thought that the ethics rules were strong enough to protect the integrity of the government's operations. my recent experiences have convinced me that they need strengthening."no word on who will replace the federal ethics director.i'm david danielreporting. (j.r.)a sad story out of ohio tonight where multiple people were shot. a 21 year old woman was holding a party to announce that she was pregnant and would soon be giving birth to a baby boy. the group had just turned out the lights to watch a spiderman movie when two men in hoodies came through the front door and opened fire. the mother was shot in the leg and lost her baby. eight others were injured including three children. officers say two handguns were used in the shoot

also speaking today the government's top ethics watch dog, walter shaub. is director of the office of government ethics and last week announced his resignation from that post. shaui has repeatedly butt heads with the trump administration over conflicts of interest.walter shaub, director the office of government ethics"i really always thought that the ethics rules were strong enough to protect the integrity of the government's operations. my recent experiences have convinced me that they need strengthening."no word on who will replace the federal ethics director.i'm david daniel reporting. (jr stone) in national news tonight a sad story out of ohio tonight where multiple people were shot. a 21 year old woman was holding a party to announce that she was pregnant and would soon be giving birth to a baby boy. the group had just turned out the lights to watch a spiderman movie when two men in hoodies came through the front door and opened fire. the mother was shot in the leg and lost her baby. eight others were injured including three children. officers say two

walter shaub announcing on twitter he will join the campaign legal center. a company that focuses on violation of campaign finance law. shaub previously said president trump keeping his business was unethical. he also asked the white house to punish kellyanne conway for promoting ivanka trump's fa happen. alison: well, this is the scene in the last two hours where protylessers crashed with police -- protesters crashed with police ahead of tomorrow's g20 summit in germany. thousands descended on hamburg for what they called the welcome to hell protest. nancy chen monitoring developments from the "live desk." what is the latest? nancy: police resorted to using tear gas and water cannons as the protesters spoke out against many issues including capitalism. president trump was greeted by german chancellor angela merkel when he arrived this morning. leaders of some of the most powerful countries are expected to you can the about issues like trade, climate change over the next few days. but even before this summit has started president trump is setting his own ton

walter shaub has been hounding the white house for months about the conflicts of interest.aves office next week and says tougher guidelines are needed now more than ever. >> i'd like to see rules to address presidential conflicts of interest. every past president since the enactment of ethics in government has understood that a president can have conflicts of interest and should address them. the beach of that has been the start -- the breach of that has been the start of every problem that's flowed from the start of the past several months. >> he insists he was not pushed out of his job but willingly close to step down. >>> the senate returns if a holiday recess this morning and will get back to work on health care reform. if republicans can't pass the bill, insurers want them to shore up obamacare instead. insurers say uncertainty is forcing them to boost rates or leave the exchanges completely. for example, humana, aetna, and anthem are out in 2018 blaming a lack of information on top of millions in losses. here are a few complaints insurers want lawmakers to address --

of controversy with officials sparring with the office of government ethics and former director walter shaub says the administration has not provided the information it needs. >> while we try to work on reports, they dragged their feet on providing answers to questions. and they won't let us see the ethics agreements they've negotiated with their appointees. >> shaub stepped down from his role last week. and the interesting thing about their business, when you look at some of the prior presidents or even candidates for president who had a lot of money, they would put their things in a blind trust, right? and then that's it. you don't know what's happening with that business. the trump empire is based on trump. the name trump. and you can see -- so it's almost impossible to make it a blind kind of investment. >> also no real transparency in terms of how much they are aware of the business dealings of the trump organization. >>> president trump faces the media to discuss health care this afternoon right after he meets with what the white house is calling victims of obamacare. we're already get

walter shaub was awe pointed to a five-year term in 2013 but he has now put in his two weeks' notice with his last day as july 19. he posted to twitter the resignation letter he sent to the white house. he will be joining the campaign legal center, a non-profit group. alison: well, would you park right on your lawn if it meant you could do it for free and not get ticketed on the street? well, that is what is going on at least in one part of bethesda. abc7's montgomery county reporter kevin lewis with the reason behind the lengths some are going to for the ticket-free parking. kevin? kevin: hey there. this neighborhood we are in now goes by the name it's off wisconsin avenue, really close to the metro, restaurants and shops. so to prevent commuter parking, a lot of signs in the neighborhood read "permit parking only." a rule that is in effect 24/7. now recently, montgomery county transitioned from paper visitor passes to a robust digital system. residents now have to register every guest's license plate in advance, which they say is a big hassle. parking enforcement now patrolled in v

walter shaub, who's been the director of the office of government ethics since 2012 tweeted out thise president today. he did not offer any specific reasoning for stepping down, but he has a history with sparring with president trump, specifically over his business holdings. he held this press conference just before the president's inauguration pleading with the president to divest from his businesses. >> the idea of setting up a trust to hold his operating businesses adds nothing to the equation. this is not a blind trust. it's not even close. should a president hold himself to a lower standard than his own appointees? i appreciate that divestiture can be costly, but the president-elect would not be alone in making that sacrifice. i've been involved in just about every presidential nomination in the past ten years. i've also been involved in the ethics review of presidents, vice presidents, and most top white house officials. i've seen the sacrifices these individuals have had to make. it's important to understand that the president is now entering a world of public service. he's go

officials sparring with the office of government ethics and former director walter shaub, ethics director saying the administration has not provided the information it needs. >> while we try to work on those reports, they've really dragged their feet on providing answers to questions. and they won't let us see the ethics agreements they've negotiated with their appoint appointees. >> shaub stepped down from his role last week. $762 million, more than i thought actually. a lot of money. >> all right. >>> walmart man asks for water and helps uncover a deadly human smuggling operation. this is a tragic story from san antonio, texas. we demand a lot from our eyes every day. i should know. i have chronic dry eye caused by reduced tear production due to inflammation. so i use restasis multidose. it helps me make more of my own tears, with continued use, twice a day, every day. restasis multidose helps increase your eyes' natural ability to produce tears, which may be reduced by inflammation due to chronic dry eye. restasis multidose did not increase tear production in patients using anti-inflam

walter shaub is stepping down months before his term was set to expire.a statement on twitter, he said: "it has become clear to me that we need improvements to the existing ethics program." it follows the resignation of a top justice department official over ethics concerns. democratic attorneys general in 18 states and the district of columbia are suing education secretary betsy devos, over her delay of rules on for-profit colleges. the lawsuit demands the implementation of the rules created under the obama administration. they're meant to cancel the student-loan debt of people defrauded by the schools. the illinois house of representatives has voted to over-ride the governor's veto of a budget package. it means illinois will have its first annual spending plan since 2015, the longest state fiscal crisis since the great depression. lawmakers voted 71 to 42 to approve the $36 billion budget plan, which is funded with a $5 billion income tax increase. on wall street today, stocks had their biggest drop in more than six weeks, amid signs hiring has slowed.

talk with treasury secretary steven mnuchin and senator ted cruz but plus goes one-on-one with walter shaub as he resigned as the government's top ethics watchdog. that comes up on "this week" with george. >> mandatory sunday viewing. >>> we're going to move on now to what could be a major turning point in the fight against isis. >> u.s.-backed iraqi forces are edging ever closer to recapturing the key iraqi city of mosul, and abc's ian pannell recently spent time on the front lines and joins us from erbil. >> reporter: paula, dan, iraqi troops now say they've just got a few hundred yards left and then this battle is done. in fact, they say that isis now controls less than half a square mile of mosul. but with civilians trapped and the terrain tough, the going is a slow as it is dangerous. this morning, isis cornered as iraqi troops close in finally taking back mosul after nearly nine months of all-out war. just look at the devastation. >> go, go, go. >> reporter: we went into the heart of the old city on the front lines with iraqi special forces. civilians have suffered the most here. this

government ethics has announced he will resign nearly six months before his term is scheduled to end, walter shaubriticized president trump for months about potential conflicts of interest. >>> a federal district court judge has ruled to keep president trump's partial travel ban in place. it denied a request from the state of hawaii to clarify the supreme court's ruling to partially uphold the ban last month. the judge said thursday the state must go to the supreme court for more clarification. >>> a delta air lines flight bound for beijing was forced to turn back to seattle thursday night after an unruly passenger in first class attacked and injured a flight attendant 45 minutes into the flight. other passengers helped to restrain the 23-year-old man until the plane landed safely in seattle. >>> happening right now, we are watching the markets. opened 30 second ago. the dow reacting to the strong jobs report, 22,000 jobs created with unemployment ticking up to 4.4%. the mark is up slightly, but here we are with the dow at 21,000. let's bring in cnbc's dominic chu. dom, let's talk more about this

the director of the office of government ethics, walter shaub jr., says the trump administration has so undermined ethical standards that the united states is "pretty close to a laughingstock at this point." shaub is resigning today. he has been critical of president trump on a slew of issues, including trump's failure to release his tax returns, his refusal to sell his assets, and his frequent visits courses, which shaub says "creates the appearance of profiting from the presidency." in his interview with the "new york times," shaub also criticized democrats for trying co-opt his work, saying -- "i don't like the fair-weather friends who are supportive of the ethics program only as a political tool against this present administration." the white house has released its plans for renegotiating the north american free trade agreement, known as nafta. the 17-page document says the white house seeks to reduce the u.s. trade deficit with mexico and restrict the amount of imported material in goods that qualify under the agreement. labor leaders and workers rights organizations criticized

walter shaub who has gone ahead -- who has gone head to head with the trump administration says therenment ethics given the current situation. he also says the oge's ethics program needs to be strengthened. >> secretary of education betsy devos facing several lawsuits. democratic attorney generals from 18 states and d.c. have filed a lawsuit against the education department and devos challenging the department's move last month to freeze new rules for erasing the federal loan debt of student borrowers who were cheated by colleges that acted fraudulently. >> overseas in france the country plans to stop selling pet troll and diesel vehicles by 2040. the plan is to meet the paris accord climate targets. the news comes as volvo says it will start phasing out diesel cars and start making only electric ones. >> spider-man star andrew garfield under fire for saying he is gay without the physical ac his comments sparking outrage on social media. one twitter user says the actor is the rachel dolezel of gay men. others say his comments undermine the struggles of gay people. >> and finally hbo c

we spoke again tonight to walter shaub, the former ethics director. he told us it's been the agency's policy for years to release financial disclosures on the same day they are certified. if a report seemed likely to garner extra attention, he said the office made an extra effort to make sure the forms got released to the public the same day they were signed. that is how they used to do it when he was in charge. now that the white house has hand-picked someone to take over that job, apparently we get the kushner forms 7:00 on a friday night. that does it for us tonight. we'll see you again on monday. now it's time for "the last word." ari melber sitting in for lawrence tonight. good evening, ari. >> good evening, rachel. sometimes the news breaks late and people ask why, and there's no reason. and then sometimes it feels like maybe there's a reason. >> that's right. and, you know, some of these things, i just feel like it's because we're all cursed, and we don't get real weekends. so fridays just end up being a busy day. but there are some things in t

. >> walter shaub, thank you. how soon can you come back? very soon? >> sure. >> good.thics at the campaign legal center. thank you for your service. we'll be right back. nning inter. award winning design. award winning engine. the volvo xc90. the most awarded luxury suv of the century. this july visit your local volvo dealer to receive sommar savings of up to $4,500. (singsong) budget meeting. sweet. if you compare last quarter... it's no wonder everything seems a little better with the creamy taste of philly, made with no artificial preservatives, flavours or dyes. made with no artificial preservatives, anyone who calls it a hobby doesn't understand. we know that a person's passion is what drives them. [ clapping ] and that's why every memorial we create is a true reflection of the individual. only a dignity memorial professional can celebrate a life like no other. find out how at sanfranciscodignity.com. >>> where does the time go? that does it for us tonight. we will see you again tomorrow. now it's time for "the last word" with lawrence o'donnell. good evening, law

. >> walter shaub, thank you. how soon can you come back? very soon? >> sure. >> good.enior director of ethics at the campaign legal center. thank you for your service. we'll be right back. pain can really be a distraction. pain is sometimes in my hands, right before a performance especially. only aleve has the strength to stop minor arthritis pain for up to 12 hours with just one pill. this is my pain. but i am stronger. aleve. all day strong. "how to win at business." step one: point decisively with the arm of your glasses. abracadabra. the stage is yours. step two: choose la quinta. the only hotel where you can redeem loyalty points for a free night-instantly and win at business. if you have moderate to severe ulcerative colitis or crohn's, and your symptoms have left you with the same view, it may be time for a different perspective. if other treatments haven't worked well enough, ask your doctor about entyvio, the only biologic developed and approved just for uc and crohn's. entyvio works by focusing right in the gi-tract to help control damaging inflammation and i