Treasury Secretary cleared for plugging The LEGO Batman Movie

A bizarre little LEGO related controversy that erupted recently is coming to a close, as the Office of Government Ethics in the USA has chosen not to pursue any punitive action against Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. Mnuchin made the mistake of jokingly encouraging movie-goers to see The LEGO Batman Movie, a feature that he part financed. The Washington Examiner reported the verdict:

Because Mnuchin acknowledged that he should not have made the endorsement and said that he would undergo further ethics training, Director Walter Schaub declared, the office "intends to give Secretary Mnuchin the opportunity to make good on the pledge."

If, however, Mnuchin fails to do so, the office will seek further action, Schaub said in a letter to Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee who had requested an ethics probe into Mnuchin's comments.

Administration officials are not permitted to promote products in order to avoid conflicts of interest.