The Foundation for Accountability and Public Trust and the Campaign Legal Center have rebuked Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ), who campaigned on “reforms to limit the role of money in politics,” for possibly neglecting to disclose personal stock trades in potential violation of the federal STOCK Act.
Foundation for Accountability and Public Trust filed a complaint with the Office of Congressional Ethics on March 5, while the Campaign Legal Center issued a letter on March 8 to the Office of Congressional Ethics requesting an investigation.
“The STOCK Act requires accountability for any member of Congress who fails to report stock trades within 45 days of the transaction,” the Campaign Legal Center wrote, noting, “Rep. Malinowski repeatedly failed to comply with this requirement for over two years.”
We filed a complaint against @RepMalinowski (D-NJ) for allegedly failing to report his stock trades as required by the STOCK Act. This law is meant to protect the integrity of the legislative process; it must be enforced if a member of Congress breaks it.https://t.co/fm9FNVu2D2
— Campaign Legal Center (@CampaignLegal) March 8, 2021
Kendra Arnold, executive director of the Foundation for Accountability and Public Trust, said in a statement, “The law is abundantly clear on what is required of all House Members when it comes to personal financial disclosures. Rep. Malinowski’s failure to report roughly 90 financial transactions is unacceptable. More egregious is that many of the transactions involved COVID-related stocks.”
The Democrat congressman’s stock trades included more than 24 transactions during the spring of 2020, which was disclosed by Malinowski’s office to a reporter on Wednesday.
“The spreadsheet notes that Malinowski made at least $671,000 and as much as $2.76 million worth of trades during 2020. Members of Congress must report the value of their stock assets only in broad ranges, which makes a precise total elusive,” Breitbart News reported.
Colston Reid, Malinowski’s chief of staff, attempted to shore up the situation by simply calling the undisclosed trades “late.”
“Filing these disclosures late was an oversight that he is taking steps to correct,” she said.
“This was not an effort on the part of the congressman to conceal any trade activities,” Amanda Osbourne, Malinowski’s spokesperson, separately noted. Malinowski “has a financial advisor that makes trading decisions on his behalf without his regular input,” she claimed.
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