Dreier fails to disclose up to $263,000 in stock profits
Ranking Member of the House Rules Committee calls omissions "inadvertent"
Rancho Cucamonga - Rep. David Dreier, former Chair and current ranking member of the House Rules Committee, failed to report tens of thousands of dollars in profits he made in stock transactions in the years 2004, 2005 and 2006. Under House rules, each Member of Congress is required to file a personal financial disclosure form each year listing income, assets, liabilities and transactions. Dreier flubbed his, repeatedly ‘forgetting' to report tens of thousands of dollars.
Dreier's position as former Chair of the influential House Rules Committee makes his claim that the omissions were "inadvertent" even more unlikely.
"These are basic rules that everyone in Congress is required to follow - the Ethics Committee even has workshops and handouts to make sure they are understood," said Kristin Points, campaign manager for Russ Warner, the Democratic candidate for Congress from California's 26th district. "The idea that David Dreier, who has been in Congress for 27 years, wouldn't know how to fill out a basic financial disclosure form is absurd."
The story was reported this morning by Roll Call. According to the article, "Rep. David Dreier (Calif.), a member of the House Republican leadership, failed to disclose tens of thousands of dollars in profits he made on stock sales on his annual financial disclosure forms for the past several years." Roll Call, 3/17/08
Because the disclosure forms only require Members to report profits in ranges ($1,000 -$2,500, $2,500 - $5,000, $5,000 - $15,000, etc), the full scope of Dreier's "omission" is not yet known. It was estimated by Roll Call to be anywhere from $85,000 to $263,000.
Dreier's spokeswoman has said that Dreier's forms were approved by the Ethics Committee at the time of their submission - but the House Ethics Committee "will neither confirm nor deny that Dreier's forms have been approved." Roll Call, 3/17/08
"I guess it's no surprise given these repeated failures to comply with House ethics rules that David Dreier just recently voted against the tough new ethics rules the House of Representatives just passed," Warner said today. "I'm running for office because we deserve better than the scandal-plagued culture of corruption that has taken root in Washington. David Dreier has been in Congress for 27 years, and it is time for a change."
