End Citizens United (ECU) filed a complaint with the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) requesting an investigation of Speaker Mike Johnson for his repeated violations of federal law. The complaint alleges he failed to file personal financial disclosure statements (PFDs) in an accurate and complete manner, time and time again. The complaint alleges Speaker Johnson failed to report trips he took that were paid for by private entities, sources of his spouse’s earned income, and his spouse’s interest in an LLC she owns, as well as potentially failing to disclose reportable honoraria received by his spouse, and reportable bank accounts and retirement assets.
“The American people deserve to know whether the Speaker of the House has financial conflicts of interests, but Speaker Johnson is clearly violating federal laws by hiding critical information from the public,” said Tiffany Muller, President of End Citizens United. “It’s laughable to believe that the person leading government funding negotiations doesn’t have a reportable savings or retirement account. But beyond his own potential financial mismanagement, failing to disclose travel and his spouse’s sources of income is against the law and the Office of Congressional Ethics must investigate and hold him accountable.”
The violations:
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Since his first election in 2016, Speaker Johnson has had to file personal financial statements every year; in total he has filed eight PFDs—one as a candidate and seven as a Member. As a Member of the House, he is explicitly aware of PFD requirements and is required to take annual training from the Committee on Ethics.
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Despite this, he has seemingly and repeatedly filed incomplete statements, omitting crucial information on his finances from the public.
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Federal law requires disclosure of accepted travel that was paid for by private entities or a foreign government, if the cost of travel exceeded the statutory threshold. From 2020 through 2022, that threshold was $415.
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Speaker Johnson failed to report at least two separate trips paid for by private sources on his PFDs. In February 2020, he and his spouse traveled to Israel on an all-expense paid trip sponsored by 12 Tribe Films Foundation, the total cost approximating close to $18,000. In April 2022, Johnson accepted a free trip to Williamstown, Kentucky which was paid for by Answers in Genesis. According to public records, the trip exceeded the $415 threshold.
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Though both of these trips exceeded the federal threshold, Speaker Johnson failed to disclose these trips on his 2020 and 2022 personal financial disclosures (PFDs).
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When filing PFDs, filers are required to report the source and type of their spouse’s earned income that aggregate over $1,000 from a single source during a reporting period.
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On multiple PFDs, Johnson disclosed his wife’s earned income but failed to report the source of the income. His omission defeats the entire purpose of the disclosure requirement, instead shielding the public from knowing who paid his spouse.
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PFD filers are also required to report any ownership interests in privately-held business entities. When reporting, the filer must list the name of the business, a brief description, the location, total value of the filer’s interest, and the type and amount of any unearned income received.
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According to records, Johnson’s wife owns a company—which was formed in 2017—of which she was the sole manager. Yet, Johnson has never disclosed his spouse’s interest in this entity, nor has he ever reported a single asset held by his spouse in the eight reports he has filed.
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Johnson’s spouse touted she “maintain[ed] a busy speaking schedule…” and before she took her company’s website down, she promoted herself as a trained counselor and asked viewers to contact her to book services. It was strongly suggested that she received reportable payments for her speaking engagements.
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PFDs filers are required to disclose the source, type, and amount of their spouse’s honoraria that totaled $200 or more. Despite this, Johnson has never disclosed honoraria payments to his wife on any of his disclosures.
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Lastly, it appears that Johnson may have failed to disclose reportable bank accounts and retirement assets. Required reportable assets include: investment properties, assets held in brokerage accounts or retirement accounts, defined benefit plans, 529 college savings accounts, mutual funds, insurance policies, and certain bank accounts.
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Given that Johnson and his spouse have worked for over twenty years, it’s highly unusual and unlikely that neither would have a single reportable asset, bank account, brokerage account, 529 savings plan, or insurance policy. If Speaker Johnson, his wife, or their dependent children held any assets that met the amount or income thresholds above, these omissions would constitute additional violations that Speaker Johnson has committed while filing his PFDs.
Click HERE to read the complaint.
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