End Citizens United spokesperson Bawadden Sayed issued the following statement following NBC Montana’s report on the conflict of interest Tim Sheehy faces by not divesting his stake in Bridger Aerospace:
“Stepping down as CEO but not divesting from Bridger Aerospace does nothing to eliminate the glaring conflict of interest Tim Sheehy would face in the U.S. Senate. This further proves that Shady Sheehy is driven purely by self-interest and simply cannot be trusted.”
NBC Montana: Unpacking criticism of Sheehy’s blind trust pledge
- MISSOULA, Mont. — With Montana Senate candidate Tim Sheehy out as CEO of his company, Bridger Aerospace, the Montana Democratic Party is highlighting the fact that Sheehy has not committed to divesting from his company.
- Sheehy, the Republican candidate, released an ethics pledge last fall in which he committed to putting financial assets into a blind trust, if elected. Montana Democrats argue this is not far enough and not divesting would create “conflicts of interest.”
- For some clarity on the matter NBC Montana spoke with Stephen Nelson, an associate professor of political science at Northwestern University.
- “The strongest thing you could do is to divest, right,” Nelson said. “Divest holdings of assets that might be connected to a policy position that you could have some influence over.”
- Sheehy has nearly 10.4 million shares of Bridger Aerospace stock, according to an April SEC filing. These shares are worth more than $32 million dollars as of midday Tuesday.
- Bridger Aerospace does benefit from federal contracts. The company has two aircraft under a 5-year contract with the federal government, specifically the Department of the Interior and Bureau of Indian Affairs, according to a February press release.
- This includes two contracts up to $24 million each in addition to a contract up to $20 million relating to surveillance and intelligence operations.
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