Yesterday, End Citizens United filed a complaint with the Office of Congressional Ethics against Rep. John James (MI-10) for violating the STOCK Act by failing to properly disclose 145 stock trades—and failing to file his financial disclosure statement by the deadline.
See below for coverage:
The Detroit News: Watchdog files ethics complaint over U.S. Rep. James’ late stock trade disclosure
Grant Schwab
9/24/24
Key sections:
- A watchdog group filed an ethics complaint against Michigan Republican U.S. Rep. John James on Tuesday over his failure to properly disclose 145 stock trades and file a financial disclosure on time.
- End Citizens United — a left-leaning advocacy group focusing on money in politics — submitted the complaint to the U.S. House of Representatives’ Office of Congressional Ethics.
- “Rep. James kept the public in the dark on millions of dollars of stock trades and his own personal finances and must be held accountable,” End Citizens United President Tiffany Muller said. “His blatant disregard for the law, which he is clearly well aware of, is unacceptable and shows he cannot be trusted.”
- The complaint might prompt an investigation by the Ethics Office, an independent and nonpartisan entity responsible for reviewing allegations of misconduct against members of Congress.
- James also said he filed a late annual financial disclosure on Sept. 3, more than three weeks after his Aug. 13 deadline, because he was “prioritizing integrity and transparency above haste in correcting these newly uncovered errors.”
- End Citizens United’s primary complaint against James is that he violated the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act, commonly referred to as the STOCK Act. The law is meant to provide the public with timely information about the financial activity from members of Congress.
- The complaint noted that “some of the transactions are as many as 252 days late — depriving the public of their ability to determine whether he engaged in activity that could constitute a conflict of interest for over eight months,” according to a copy of the document obtained by The News.
Michigan Advance: Watchdog group files complaint against U.S. Rep. John James for late stock disclosure
Kyle Davidson
9/25/24
Key sections:
- End Citizens United, a left-leaning advocacy group, has filed an ethics complaint against U.S. Rep. John James (R-Shelby Twp.), alleging James violated the STOCK Act, by failing to properly disclose 145 stock trades and failing to file his annual financial disclosure on time.
- The complaint submitted to the U.S. House Office of Congressional Ethics requests the office “immediately opens a preliminary review to investigate Rep. James’ apparent failure to file timely periodic transaction reports and his annual financial disclosure statement and take all necessary steps to seek appropriate penalties and corrective action.”
- By law, anyone who files their financial disclosures more than 30 days after the due date must pay a $200 late filing fee, according to the clerk of the House of Representatives.
- On Sept. 2, 2024, James filed a report which included transactions dating back to Nov. 10, 2023, with the complaint noting that some of the transactions are as many as 252 days late.
- The complaint also notes James filed his annual financial disclosure for 2023 late after receiving an extension to Aug. 13, 2024, with James filing the disclosure on Sept. 3, 2024.
- “Whether this decision was intentional or not, Rep. James again left the public in the dark about his finances for weeks beyond the statutory deadline,” the complaint reads.
- Should End Citizen United’s request be granted, the Office of Congressional Ethics will conduct its investigation and, if appropriate, refer the matter to the House Ethics committee for further review.
###