Trump Pick Jay Clayton to Be Most Conflicted SEC Chair Ever - Matt Taibbi

This is both far less common and a much bigger problem than you'd think. As one former congressional aide put it to me today, "Clayton will be the most financially conflicted SEC chairman in history."

Remember, at the Republican convention last year, Trump supporters heckled Ted Cruz's wife, Heidi, for being a Goldman Sachs employee.

Where are all those furious Trump supporters now that their idol has put the husband of a Goldman broker in charge of the SEC? Pretty quiet. You can hear the crickets chirping all across America today...

Yet even as he has to sit out Goldman's inevitable enforcement problems because of his wife... Ethics rules say officials like Clayton do not have to recuse themselves from matters of "general application," meaning in this case that Clayton may rule on matters concerning Goldman, provided they also impact other banks.

... Industry lawyers I spoke with today seemed split on how big a deal it is. But all agreed that it's not a good look for Clayton. "I get the feeling that this Trump crew doesn't particularly care how bad things look, though," said one.