It turns out that when the head of a news organization becomes a chief White House strategist, all sorts of ethics rules apply. Politico lays out the ethics rules Steve Bannon will face … or, as we might think of them, the ethics rules Bannon will ignore and routinely violate. How much can Bannon use Breitbart News as a Trump administration outlet? Well ...
… existing White House ethics rules prohibit officials from dealing with their former employers for at least a year — meaning Bannon would have to scrupulously avoid any contact with Breitbart.
But Trump could give Bannon a waiver on that prohibition, and while Politico’s Isaac Arnsdorf and Taylor Gee suggest that “If the Trump administration were to rescind or waive the ethics rules to allow Bannon to make contact with Breitbart, it could prove embarrassing for the nascent administration,” we all know that this administration is beyond little things like embarrassment, right? There are requirements that may be a little harder to get around, though:
But even a waiver from Trump wouldn't suffice if Bannon owns stock in Breitbart or is guaranteed a job there when he leaves government. That would make it a criminal offense for Bannon to do anything that would enrich Breitbart, like favoring them for West Wing scoops. [...]
If Bannon doesn't own stock or have a guaranteed job but received any kind of bonus when he left, a statute requires him to recuse himself from any matter involving the company. Even without a bonus, he must recuse himself for a year, under the "consideration of appearance" rule, which requires the appearance of impartiality.
The main question remains, though, how much—or how little—Bannon will obey the rules that apply to him. And of course, it will be up to the Trump Department of Justice and the Republican Congress to decide whether to enforce any rules he gets caught breaking.