Prof. Richard Painter Quoted in Los Angeles Times About President Biden Vacationing at Home of Wealthy Donor

Professor Richard Painter, S. Walter Richey Professor of Corporate Law, was quoted in the Los Angeles Times about any ethics implications of President Biden vacationing at the home of a wealthy donor in Santa Barbara, California. Elected officials, including the president, are generally required to disclose gifts as part of the ethics laws passed in the wake of the Watergate scandal. But officials are not required to disclose “any food, lodging, or entertainment received as personal hospitality.” Prof. Painter said, Biden would need to disclose the “free use” of a friend’s house. However, if the friend is there with him then it would not have to be reported. “This is common that presidents have stayed with friends and so forth,” said Painter, who previously served as the chief White House ethics lawyer in the George W. Bush administration. “But if it is free use of the house, and President Biden has done that a few times, it does need to go on the report.”