Biden's Commerce secretary spoke on an AI committee while her husband held stock...

• Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo spoke about advancing AI during a May committee meeting.

• Meanwhile, Raimondo's husband exercised up to $150,000 in stock options at his AI company in December 2021.

• Raimondo's presence on the committee could constitute a "conflict of interest" in the future, a former OGE director said.

Department of Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo spoke on a committee in May discussing the regulation and advancement of artificial intelligence while her husband holds stock and is employed at a biotech AI firm.

Former Office of Government Ethics Director Walter Shaub, who first pointed out the meeting on Twitter on September 2, said this could have constituted a "conflict of interest."

Shaub, now senior ethics fellow at Project On Government Oversight, told Insider that it "seemed pretty clear" that Raimondo's participation in the May meeting did not violate 18 US Code § 208, which prohibits government officials from participating in matters that could directly affect financial interests.

However, her comments on "regulating AI" indicated that she may be working closely on issues narrowly focused on the industry, Shaub said.

"I don't understand how she can drop in and out of this committee's work without running the risk that, at some point, some of her activities will qualify as a particular matter and trigger the conflict of interest [law]," Shaub said.

In a statement to Insider, a spokesperson for the Department of Commerce defended the meeting, as well as Raimondo's work regulating "emerging technology," pointing to the ethics agreement that Raimondo signed prior to her confirmation.

"The Secretary disclosed her husband's place of employment in the confirmation process; the options are from his job and were disclosed," the spokesperson said. "It is also well known that the Department of Commerce regulates emerging technology."

The spokesperson continued: "The Secretary has a clear ethics agreement as it relates to her husband's employment and she remains in full compliance with that agreement."