A non-partisan ethics watchdog sent a letter to the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) calling for an investigation for another Democrat, Rep. Susan Lee (D-NV), for allegedly violating the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act of 2012 and House ethics rules.
The complaint filed with the OCE outlined that the congresswoman failed to adequately disclose over 200 stock transactions on time since early 2020, made by her and her husband, valued up to $3.3 million, and in doing so allegedly violated Federal Law and House ethics rules.
Breitbart News reported on Lee’s disclosures allegedly being “several days after deadlines mandated”:
Lee, a member in a battleground district, did not correctly disclose over 200 of her personal stock trades since early last year, according to Business Insiderwho reviewed her congressional records. The transactions are estimated to be worth as little as $267,000 with a maximum of $3.3 million.
The report noted that the congresswoman and her husband — in seven filings between February and May of last year — did not disclose trades where they either bought or sold stocks in companies such as Planet Fitness Inc., Wayfair Inc., Marriott International, Carnival Corp., Williams-Sonoma Inc., and US Foods Holding Corp.
Members, required by the STOCK Act, have to file any financial transactions that exceed $1,000 within 30 to 45 days of the transaction from themselves and their spouses:
Members are supposed to file “full and complete” financial disclosure reports of themselves and the members’ spouse’s assets, debts, and income, in addition to the filing “periodic reports” when transactions are made that exceed $1,000. Every member is required to do so within 30 to 45 days of the transaction.
FACT’s Executive Director Kendra Arnold told Breitbart News that violations such as this one from Lee are serious and cannot be overlooked, as members of Congress may use their position for self-enrichment:
The financial disclosure law is necessary and fundamental, and it must be strictly enforced to determine whether a member has used their official position for self-enrichment. To maintain public trust in our governmental system Members must take financial reports seriously, and a consistent failure to disclose financial transactions as the law requires shows they are not. The repeated disregard of this very fundamental and straightforward law by Rep. Lee is a failure of her duties to the American public and I encourage the OCE to immediately investigate and impose the appropriate sanctions, including fines and penalties for every late filing.
In 2012, STOCK Act was quickly passed by Congress and signed into law after receiving substantial bipartisan support in both chambers. The legislation was introduced and promptly signed into law thanks to Breitbart News senior contributor Peter Schweizer, who in 2011 released Throw Them All Out, exposing corruption in the highest echelons of elected life.
Schweizer’s book, which exposed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and many others, revealed corruption concerns among Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill, forcing Congress into adopting the STOCK Act that implemented stricter reporting and ethics requirements.
Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul Pelosi, reportedly made massive bets on stock prior to the antitrust legislation vote in committee, securing large sums of money. https://t.co/6RKldIy5DW
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) July 10, 2021
In the current 117th Congress, there are now 14 known Democrats serving in federal elected officials accused of violating the rules under the law, many of which have had ethics complaints sent to the OCE asking for an investigation.
A full copy of the FACT’s complaint against Lee can be found here.
Follow Jacob Bliss on Twitter @jacobmbliss.
