Mnuchin Says He Didn’t Know Milken Would Benefit From Tax Help

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he had no knowledge that his long-time friend and billionaire Michael Milken would benefit from a tax break his agency approved last year for a property in Nevada.

Mnuchin’s role in awarding tax incentives for investing in low-income areas has come under scrutiny after the New York Times reported on Saturday that he intervened in a way that helped Milken. Mnuchin said he didn’t seek to specifically assist the former financier, and that the Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service process to designate so-called opportunity zones was fair to all states that applied.

“I was ...