Remember the heady days when President Obama took office?  He promised the American people that he would have the most transparent administration in history.

In fact President Obama is quoted in Tech President as reiterating the same sentiment in 2013:

President Obama defended his government as “the most transparent administration in history” Thursday afternoon during a White House “fireside hangout” hosted online by Google.

That would be nice if it were true, but when it comes to one Obama appointee, nothing could be further from the truth.

Aside from posting a misleading resume on a government website, Renata B. Hesse is violating Executive Order 13490 “Ethics Commitments by Executive Branch Personnel” by working on antitrust matters for the benefit of Google, her former client.  Here’s the clause:

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release                  January 21, 2009

EXECUTIVE ORDER

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By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including section 301 of title 3, United States Code, and sections 3301 and 7301 of title 5, United States Code, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section1.  Ethics Pledge.  Every appointee in every executive agency appointed on or after January 20, 2009, shall sign, and upon signing shall be contractually committed to, the following pledge upon becoming an appointee:

“As a condition, and in consideration, of my employment in the United States Government in a position invested with the public trust, I commit myself to the following obligations, which I understand are binding on me and are enforceable under law:

“2.Revolving Door Ban — All Appointees Entering Government.  I will not for a period of 2 years from the date of my appointment participate in any particular matter involving specific parties that is directly and substantially related to my former employer or former clients, including regulations and contracts….

(j)”Former client” is any person for whom the appointee served personally as agent, attorney, or consultant within the 2 years prior to the date of his or her appointment, but excluding instances where the service provided was limited to a speech or similar appearance.  It does not include clients of the appointee’s former employer to whom the appointee did not personally provide services.

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