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U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan
U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan is getting national attention for issues related to a matter before the House Ethics Committee.
Reporter Jordy Yager lists Buchanan with U.S. Reps Michael Grimm, R-N.Y.; Pete Sessions, R-Texas; Buck McKeon, R-Calif; and Elton Gallegly, R-Calif, as members who are dealing with matters being looked at by the House Ethics Committee.
The Hill reports the issues are creating campaign fodder nationwide for Democrats heading into the 2012 election cycle.
In late December, the House Ethics Committee announced it was reviewing a matter related to Buchanan and would decide by Feb. 6 how to handle it. A spokesman for the committee has refused to comment on specifics of the matter.
Earlier in January the Herald-Tribune reported that Buchanan filed amendments to four years of financial disclosure reports. The amended documents show Buchanan has held positions with 16 businesses or organizations that he previously failed to fully report to Congress as required by House rules. In addition, Buchanan corrected his titles with another 20 businesses and organizations, according to the reports covering four years that were filed with the Clerk of the House last September. In many cases, positions listing Buchanan as president or partner were changed to “managing member.”
Buchanan has refused interviews about the matter. His Congressional office released a statement earlier this year that the ommissions were inadvertant and mostly insignificant changes.
Yager reported in The Hill:
“While the Ethics panel has not detailed the nature of its three-month preliminary probe into Buchanan, many have speculated that it involves his financial disclosure forms and questions around his staff and campaign finances. Buchanan pointed to the Federal Election Commission declining to press charges against him earlier this year as evidence of his innocence.”
