Lauren Boebert Failed To Report Nearly $1 Million Of Her Husband's Income
Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., may have violated House ethics rules by failing to disclose the source of nearly $1 million of her husband's income in the energy sector.
Boebert sits on the House Committee of Natural Resources, raising questions about a possible conflict of interest.
The Associated Press reported financial documents show Boebert’s husband Jayson Boebert made $478,386 in 2020 and $460,601 in 2019 for “consulting services” he provided to a company called Terra Energy Partners. A representative from Terra Energy Partners said Jayson Boebert was a contracted shift worker and was not paid directly. Instead, he was paid through a company called Boebert Consulting, and that Lauren Boebert did not play a role in the company’s relationship with her husband.
Lauren Boebert did not report her husband's income as ethics and finance laws require candidates and members of Congress to disclose sources of their immediate family member’s income along with their investments and assets to assure voters there is no conflict of interest.
According to a Lauren Boebert spokesperson, Jayson Boebert had worked in energy production for 18 years and had been at Boebert Consulting since 2012. Colorado records show Boebert’s company, JLB993 LLC, took over as Boebert Consulting’s registered agent in 2018. The report for the fiscal year 2019 was filed by Lauren Boebert in April 2020, three months after she submitted her financial disclosure showing her husband earned income through Boebert Consulting.
According to Kedric Payne, the senior counsel and director of ethics for the Campaign Legal Center, lawmakers must disclose the source of all earned income, and that Boebert’s actions raise legal red flags.
“The spouse is supposed to disclose the source of all earned income and this doesn’t add up with what was in the prior filing,” Payne said.
"Voters have a right to know what financial interests their elected officials are beholden to."
The Federal Elections Commission wrote a letter to the treasurer of Lauren Boebert’s re-election campaign inquiring about four Venmo payments totaling more than $6,000. FEC filings show the payments that occurred between May and June and have been described as personal expenses of Lauren Boebert billed to the campaign account by mistake. The filings have since been reimbursed. According to a spokesperson for Lauren Boebert, the reimbursement will show up in the third-quarter filing.
The FEC letter notes “if it is determined the disbursement constitutes the personal use of campaign funds, the commission may take further legal action.”
International Business Times could not find an official website for Boebert Consulting. There was also no indication that the consulting firm has any presence on social media.
A report Monday from the Daily Beast found that "Neither Boebert Consulting nor JLB903 LLC has filed paperwork since April 2020, according to a business database maintained by the Colorado secretary of state. A registered agent search of Jayson Boebert’s name, including alternate spellings, also returns no results."
As a congresswoman, Lauren Boebert has been relentlessly pro-oil and gas and has introduced legislation aimed at reversing President Joe Biden's ban on oil and gas leasing, as she seeks to permit some on federally owned land. The bill would also nullify the revocation of the Keystone XL pipeline.
© Copyright IBTimes 2024. All rights reserved.