Vulnerable Democrat Rep. Susie Lee (NV) reportedly failed to adequately disclose personal stock trades worth up to $3.3 million.
Lee, a member in a battleground district, did not correctly disclose over 200 of her personal stock trades since early last year, according to Business Insider who reviewed her congressional records. The transactions are estimated to be worth as little as $267,000 with a maximum of $3.3 million.
The report noted that the congresswoman and her husband — in seven filings between February and May of last year — did not disclose trades where they either bought or sold stocks in companies such as Planet Fitness Inc., Wayfair Inc., Marriott International, Carnival Corp., Williams-Sonoma Inc., and US Foods Holding Corp.
Lee’s disclosures were reportedly “several days after deadlines mandated.”
Breitbart News previously reported on the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act of 2012, also known as the STOCK Act, which requires members to file financial disclosure reports when trades over $1,000 are made:
Members are supposed to file “full and complete” financial disclosure reports of themselves and the members’ spouse’s assets, debts, and income, in addition to the filing “periodic reports” when transactions are made that exceed $1,000. Every member is required to do so within 30 to 45 days of the transaction.
The report noted that the late trades did not “appear to trigger automatic late-filing penalties, as congressional officials generally wave a perfunctory $200 fine so long as a stock-trade disclosure is no more than 30 days past a federal deadline.”
Zoe Sheppard, a spokesperson for the congresswoman, told Insider that Lee was not directly involved with any of the stock trades that were made with her own money:
These trades were executed by a third party money manager with no input whatsoever from the congresswoman. … Once made aware of the transactions, Congresswoman Lee worked with a financial advisor and the House Ethics Committee to file transactions as soon as possible to comply with disclosure requirements, and has disclosed all reportable transactions during her time in Congress.
When pressed by Insider on why the disclosures had been filed late and if the congresswoman was given any fines, the spokesperson said: “While Congresswoman Lee has filed all reportable transactions, there have been a small number of previously unnoticed clerical errors that are being promptly addressed in consultation with the House Ethics Committee.”
“The congresswoman has not been actively assessed any late filing fees or penalties at this time,” Sheppard added.
Delaney Marsco, a senior legal counsel for ethics at the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center, told Insider the late filings did not appear to be intentions, “But if you’re filing within 35 or 40 days, why not disclose within 30 days and follow the law? … It shows that the member is taking the STOCK Act as a suggestion, not the law. These are very clear deadlines.”
The report added:
Lee’s stock-disclosure habits have improved lately. On September 10, she promptly disclosed a series of her most recent stock trades — including Victoria’s Secret & Co., Live Nation Entertainment Inc., and Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corp. — that her financial advisors notified her of on September 1.
[…]
Other aspects of Lee’s personal finances have faced scrutiny since last year, such as when she advocated for federal pandemic aid for the gaming industry — and her husband’s casino-development business benefited from it. At the time, Lee’s office said she had no involvement in her husband’s business receiving pandemic relief funds.
The spokesperson also did not answer Insider as to “why Lee traded individual stocks or whether she supported the Ban Conflicted Trading Act, sponsored by her fellow Democrat Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon,” which would prohibit Congressional members from trades individual stocks.
Follow Jacob Bliss on Twitter @jacobmbliss.
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