WASHINGTON — Anthony Scaramucci took no salary during his short tenure as White House communication director — yet his 10-day career detour could end up presenting him with a tax bill of $12 million or more.
That's because the New York hedge fund founder left the White House before he could obtain a "certificate of divestiture" giving him the special tax treatment available to federal employees who give up assets in order to avoid conflicts of interest.
Trump's then-chief of staff Reince Priebus and other staffers had blocked his appointment — a point Scaramucci appears to reference in crude and colorful language in a now-infamous rant to the New Yorker. Priebus was ultimately overruled when Trump brought in Scaramucci as communications director on July 21.
Yet Scaramucci left his White House job Monday – the same day Trump brought on his new chief of staff, John Kelly — before a certificate of divestiture could be issued.
Scaramucci did work in the administration just long enough to be bound by the post-employment restrictions under President Trump's executive order on ethics in the executive branch.
Scaramucci signed an ethics pledge barring him from working as a lobbyist for five years after leaving government — and from ever representing a foreign government. The White House said he hasn’t requested or received any waiver from the ethics pledge.
