Jump to content

"Conflicted Congress" - Business Insider's five-month investigation into federal lawmakers' personal finances


Recommended Posts

61b3b1072c8cf50018fa5c56?width=1200&form
WWW.BUSINESSINSIDER.COM

Insider's new investigative reporting project reveals the depths of lawmakers' conflicts-of-interest, potential self-dealing, and violations of a federal corruption law.

 

Quote

 

The nation is unabashedly polarized. Republicans and Democrats enjoy little goodwill and less commonality.

 

But in Washington, DC, a bipartisan phenomenon is thriving. Numerous members of Congress, both liberal and conservative, are united in their demonstrated indifference toward a law designed to quash corruption and curb conflicts-of-interest.

 

Insider's new investigative reporting project, "Conflicted Congress," chronicles the myriad ways members of the US House and Senate have eviscerated their own ethical standards, avoided consequences, and blinded Americans to the many moments when lawmakers' personal finances clash with their public duties.  

 

In all, Insider spent hundreds of hours over five months reviewing nearly 9,000 financial-disclosure reports for every sitting lawmaker and their top-ranking staffers. Reporters conducted hundreds of interviews, including those with some of the nation's most powerful leaders.  

 

 

 

61b6b3bad93ad200195872d1?width=1200&form
WWW.BUSINESSINSIDER.COM

Watchdog groups say the trend shows Congress isn't taking the STOCK Act seriously.

 

Quote

 

At least 182 of Capitol Hill's most influential and highest-paid staffers have blown past deadlines to detail and disclose their personal stock trades — violating a federal conflict-of-interest law in the process, an Insider analysis of congressional financial documents reveals. 

 

The staffers' failure to properly disclose the transactions come with a laundry list of excuses and rationalizations. They're also a violation of the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act, a 2012 law designed to prevent insider trading and defend against financial conflicts among elected officials and their top aides.

 

Insider's tally includes aides in both the House and the Senate with high-ranking jobs such as chiefs of staff, legislative directors, and communications directors. Also among them are workers known as professional staff members, who serve on congressional committees to advise lawmakers on policy.

 

 

 

6068dcb6856cd700198a30e9?width=1200&form
WWW.BUSINESSINSIDER.COM

Insider has identified numerous members of Congress who've violated the transparency provision of the STOCK Act, which requires timely reporting of their stock trades.

 

Quote

 

Insider and several other news organizations have this year identified 49 members of Congress who've failed to properly report their financial trades as mandated by the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act of 2012, also known as the STOCK Act.

 

Congress passed the law in 2012 to combat insider trading and conflicts of interest among their own members and force lawmakers to be more transparent about their personal financial dealings. A key provision of the law mandates that lawmakers publicly — and quickly — disclose any stock trade made by themselves, a spouse, or a dependent child.

 

But many members of Congress have not fully complied with the law. They offer excuses including ignorance of the law, clerical errors, and mistakes by an accountant. Insider has chronicled this widespread nature of this phenomenon in a new project, "Conflicted Congress."

 

 

 

61b785145873af0018bdaeeb?width=1200&form
WWW.BUSINESSINSIDER.COM

Insider calculated the wealth of each member of Congress based on their most recent personal financial filings.

 

Quote

 

Each year, every member of Congress is required to file a detailed report disclosing their financial holdings. Designed for transparency, the disclosures provide insight into each member of Congress' wealth and assets — and occasionally reveal potential conflicts of interest and violations of federal law.

 

Insider compiled members' annual disclosures filed this year, analyzing thousands of pages of documents to estimate the minimum and maximum net worth of members of the US Senate and the US House of Representatives, including nonvoting delegates. Members disclose the value of their assets in broad ranges.

 

The documents cover 2020, a year in which the world's richest people grew their fortunes by trillions of dollars. The 2020 financial disclosures are the most up-to-date financial documentation from Congress — disclosures from 2021 are not required to be filed until mid-May. Filers for the 2020 fiscal year were allotted an extra three months to submit their disclosures because of the pandemic.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 minutes ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said:

Pelosi's ludicrous "We’re a free market economy" defense to the Business Insider reporting earned this response from Walter Shaub, former director of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics:

 

 

 

 

Yeah well only one of them is worth over $100 million so who's right and who's wrong, really? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...