Senator suggests Kellyanne Conway could have violated ethics rules during the sale of her business

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) has questions about Kellyanne Conway's sale of her business to a judicial activist group while she was serving in the White House and advising the former president on a Supreme Court nominee.

Politico reported that previously unreported financial documents that government ethics experts reviewed that Leonard Leo, a former vice president of the Federalist Society and ally of far-right Supreme Court justices. Leo was apparently working with Conway through one of his dark money groups to help her with the sale of the company, which is valued between $1 million and $5 million.

The watchdog group Accountable.US said that Conway scored at least $2.5 million in the deal.

Conway was also one of those who promoted Leo's supreme court picks to the president at the time.

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“This is further evidence of the troubling role that Leonard Leo and the Federalist Society played in driving Donald Trump’s judicial selection process,” Durbin said in a statement.

Vanity Fair noted that lobbying from Conway likely wasn't even needed, citing legal expert Paul Whelan, who told Politico that Trump already made a “clear and high-profile commitment” to using Federalist Society-approved names to fill Supreme Court vacancies.

"But the dealings between Leo and Conway do raise significant ethical and legal concerns — and provide a window into his efforts to swing the judiciary to the right," the report said.

According to Politico, the transaction "could have violated federal ethics laws that prevent executive branch employees from using their positions to obtain benefits or private personal gain."

Conway hasn't responded to questions about the sale and the timing.

Conway was employed by the White House from Jan. 20, 2017 to Aug. 31, 2020.