Iowa Governor Seeks Review of Officials Who Worked for Saudis. Officials made $101,500 working for Saudi Arabia against a federal law that cleared the way for 9/11 victims to sue the kingdom for its alleged support of the September 11 plot.

Iowa governor Kim Reynolds yesterday announced that her office has asked the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board to review the case of two current state officials who did political work for Saudi Arabia at the same time they held important government positions.

Connie Schmett and her husband Kim Schmett earned $101,500 working for Saudi Arabia against a federal law that cleared the way for 9/11 victims to sue the kingdom for its alleged support of the September 11 plot.



The governor’s move follows original reportingby 28Pages.org, followed by Associated Press, that Connie Schmett allegedly used deceit to persuade Air Force veteran Dustin DeMoss to travel to Washington and lobby for changes to the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA).

 Reynolds’ predecessor, governor Terry Branstad, appointed Connie Schmett to the Health Facilities Council and the Cultural Trust Board of Trustees, and Kim Schmett to the Employment Appeal Board, which he chairs. He earns $80,000 a year in that role.


At a press conference, Reynolds told reporters she didn’t think state employees should be permitted to work for foreign governments. “If you’re working for the state, or a public official, it would be a conflict of interest to serve in that capacity,” she said. “I think it’s something that the legislature needs to look at. It appears that it’s possibly a loophole in the statute.”

https://28pages.org/2017/11/08/iowa-governor-seeks-review-of-officials-who-worked-for-saudis/#more-8892