Earlier this year, Brenda Fitzgerald, the director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, was forced to resign because, shortly after taking the position, she had purchased stock in tobacco and pharmaceutical companies — transactions that created a conflict of interest between her financial holdings and her official role.

According to public accounts, the director had not personally directed the purchases, which were instead made on her behalf by an investment manager. She also owned hundreds of other stocks, and there was no evidence that she...

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Originally published by Law360

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