Evidence Shows Rep. Lee Failed to Properly Disclose over 200 Stock Transactions
Washington, D.C.— October 4, 2021— The non-partisan ethics watchdog, the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT), sent the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) a letter immediately calling for an investigation into Rep. Susie Lee (NV) for violating Federal Law and United States House of Representatives ethics rules.
Federal law and House Ethics rules require Members to disclose financial information to the public, including financial disclosure reports that provide a "full and complete" statement of the Member's and their spouse's assets, debts, and income, as well as periodic reports of financial transactions that exceed $1,000 within 30 to 45 days of the transaction.
Contrary to this legal requirement, Rep. Susie Lee failed to adequately disclose over 200 stock transactions on time since early 2020. The stock transactions were made by Lee or her husband and included companies such as Planet Fitness Inc., the home-goods company Wayfair Inc., the hotelier Marriott International, the cruise line Carnival Corp., the kitchen-wares and home-furnishings company Williams-Sonoma Inc., and U.S. Foods Holding Corp. The stock transactions disclosed late are valued between $267,000 and $3.3 million.
"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," said Kendra Arnold, Executive Director of FACT.
A full copy of the Lee complaint can be found by clicking here.
FACT is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting accountability, ethics, and transparency in government and civic arenas. For more on FACT, visit: http://www.factdc.org/
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