Law experts are calling out the hypocrisy of Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), who is facing an ethics complaint for a possible conflict of interest, which resulted in millions in federal grant money going to a non-profit associated with his spouse.

Mike Davis, former Chief Counsel for Nominations of former Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), said that “Sen.Sheldon Whitehouse appears to be tossing stones into his own glass house.”

“This is the height of hypocrisy,” Brett Tolman, former U.S. attorney and executive director of Right On Crime, said, “Sen Whitehouse is a former US attorney and the self-proclaimed watchdog of dark money.”

Whitehouse spokesperson Stephen DeLeo said that “the ‘legal expert’ should look at the recent bipartisan decision issued by the Senate Ethics Committee when a dark money group tried to smear the Whitehouse.”

Whitehouse supported legislation that ultimately resulted in millions of dollars being granted to Ocean Conservancy. This environmental non-profit group works closely with Whitehouse’s wife Sandra, who is paid through her consulting company.

This week, the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust, an ethics watchdog organization, sent a letter to James Lankford (R-Oklahoma), Chair of Senate Select Committee on Ethics, and Chris Coons (D-Del. ), Vice Chair, to ask them to investigate Whitehouse to “determine whether he has violated Senate Ethics Rules on Conflicts of Interest.” This group’s main goal is to bring attention to possible Democrat ethics violations.

Tolman said, “This isn’t just an ethical mistake made in haste.” This is Washington, D.C. style corruption. DOJ has prosecuted many public officials for this exact crime. “I’m well aware that DOJ has multiple ongoing cases with less serious facts.”

Thomas Jipping is a senior legal fellow at the Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies of the Heritage Foundation. He said that the Ethics Committee must investigate Whitehouse’s allegations.

He said, “Of Course that is what they are there for.”

Jipping stated that he was “astonished” by their argument and the “specific facts which support a claim of an ethical violation”.

FACT, as he mentioned, provided information that supported a possible conflict of interest.

According to USASpending.gov, Ocean Conservancy has received federal grants totaling more than $14 million since 2008. It received two large grants in 2024, the first for $5.2 million from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to help with the cleanup of marine debris and the second for $1.7 from the Environmental Protection Agency.

Grants were made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the EPA annual appropriations act. Whitehouse supported both.

Per her LinkedIn page, Whitehouse’s wife, Sandra, is employed as president of consulting firm Ocean Wonks LLC and has been since 2017. She was previously a direct employee of Ocean Conservancy as its senior policy advisor, starting in 2008. 

Jipping claimed that the senator’s various claims of unethical conduct against conservative Supreme Court Justices were never supported by sufficient evidence.

Whitehouse accuses conservative Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas of ethical misconduct. Whitehouse has led an initiative to pass a Supreme Court Ethics Code into law. This has been met with serious criticism, as it allows the legislature to govern the Supreme Court.

Jipping said, “The irony is breathtaking. He now seems to be involved in such a clear conflict of interest.”

Not everyone agreed. Bradley P. Moss, an attorney at Fox News Digital, told the news outlet that it was “a stretch” to even find the appearance of conflict.

Elon Musk, the billionaire behind SpaceX, said that he is more worried about SpaceX engineers helping to modernize Air Traffic Control at FAA.

The Department of Transportation states that the Engineers are Special Government Employees and part of Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency at the FAA. They said their work as special government employees is kept apart from the FAA Office of Commercial Space Transportation.

Jipping stated that Whitehouse’s case is “an opportunity for the Ethics Committee to demonstrate their nonpartisanship.”