TomNorton refused to file a personal financial disclosure for months while mounting a Republican primary challenge to Rep. John Moolenaar of Michigan. Norton told Insider for an article published Thursday detailing his decision's potential civil and criminal ramifications. Norton has changed his mind. Completely.
Norton said in a five-minute video posted to his campaign's YouTube account that he still thinks it's not the federal government's business.
The liberals will stop crying if I pay the $200 fine, so that's why this is being filed.
In response to an Insider text message asking about his change of mind regarding the disclosure,Norton said he thought it was a rule not a law.
It is impossible to know every law on the books when your budget is 17,000 pages.
A campaign spokesman for Moolenar didn't return an Insider request for comment.
In his video,Norton gave a lot of information about his personal finances.
He earned over $250,000 in the first year of his congressional campaign and over $200,000 in the second year.
He said he owned a rental property with an assessed worth of $100,000 to $120,000 that was completely paid off.
He said he had an E-Trade account with some dividend stocks and that he owned some cryptocurrencies.
In his early 20s, after he got in trouble with some credit cards, and lost his job and apartment,Norton said he reformed his financial ways and bought a house.
He said that he was the Dave Ramsey candidate and that he paid his bills. I talk about financial responsibility. I paid for them in the past, and I took care of myself.
Norton acknowledged that he has been in trouble with the law before and paid fines. He did not say what the legal trouble or fines were.
The financial habits of President Joe Biden, Moolenaar, and politicians who use leadership political action committees, which have come under fire by government reform groups as lightly regulated slush funds for members of Congress, were criticized byNorton.
The last vote of the week took place on Thursday, June 17, 2021. Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc.
A congressional candidate has to file a financial disclosure after raising or spending $5,000 in campaign cash, according to House ethics guidelines and federal law.
The Federal Election Commission records show thatNorton raised $113k by the end of the year.
The US House fines for late personal financial disclosure filing are $200.
A candidate who knowingly and willfully falsifies a statement or fails to file a statement may be subject to investigation by the Department of Justice.
The maximum civil penalty for such an offense is $66,190 and the maximum criminal penalty is one year in federal prison, according to the federal Ethics in Government Act.
The False Statements Accountability Act of 1996 provides for a fine of up to $250,000 and/or imprisonment for up to five years for knowingly and willfully making any false statement or representation.
Jordan Libowitz, communications director for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, told Insider last week that a congressional candidate who refuses to file a personal financial disclosure would be in violation of the Ethics In Government Act.
It is more likely that the DOJ could pursue civil penalties against a candidate for not filing.
Insider's Conflicted Congress project found that 57 members of Congress and at least 182 senior congressional aides have violated the federal Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act.
The Clerk of the US House of Representatives document database did not haveNorton's financial disclosure in it as of Saturday night.
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