Evidence Shows Clarke Failed to Disclose Stock Transactions
Washington, D.C.— September 2, 2021— The non-partisan ethics watchdog, the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT), requests the Office of Congressional Ethics to immediately investigate Rep. Katherine Clark (MA) for violating federal law and House ethics rules.
Federal law and House Ethics rules require Representatives to disclose financial information to the public, including financial disclosure reports that provide a “full and complete” statement of the Member'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, it was recently reported Rep. Clark failed to publicly disclose 19 personal stock transactions by her husband within the 45-day period. Included among the stocks she disclosed outside the 45-day window are Google’s parent company Alphabet Inc., Best Buy, First Solar Inc., investment management firm BlackRock Inc., pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline, data and records management company Iron Mountain Inc., and water technology company Xylem Inc. The transactions, 5 valued between $19,019 and $285,000, were made on June 4 but not disclosed until August 15, 2021. This is the second time this month Clark has apparently broken the federal financial disclosure rules.
“Any violation of the financial reporting requirements is serious and cannot be overlooked. The law is crystal clear to all Members and abiding by these rules is an integral part of an ethical and transparent government. The bottom line is that accurate and timely filing is the only method in place to allow citizens to determine whether Members have conflicts of interest or are abusing their positions for self-enrichment. There is no excuse for not complying with these requirements, and the Office of Congressional Ethics must immediately investigate and impose the proper penalties for failing to comply with federal law," said Kendra Arnold, Executive Director of FACT.
A full copy of the Clark 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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