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FIRST ON FOX: The Foundation for Civic Accountability and Trust (FACT), a conservative-leaning ethics watchdog, released a year-end summary of the 2024 worst ethics violations by public officials that the group investigate this year.
The topic of this year’s report was ethics violations related to efforts to win elected office. Violations ranged from failure to disclose financial information and violations of federal contribution limits, to “blatant” violations of the Hatch Act and officials apparently using campaign funds for their own personal pleasure.
FACT is a non-profit organization based in the nation’s capital that was formed in 2014 and describes itself as “dedicated to promoting accountability, ethics and transparency in government and civic spheres.” At the end of each year, the watchdog reveals its ten worst offenders.
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“It is important to note the alarming detail that there is no particular ethical standard involved between them, but rather they cover a wide variety of fronts, including laws enforced by the Office of Special Counsel, the Federal Election Commission and the ‘Office of Congressional Ethics,’ states the 2024 report. ‘It is clear that these top offenders often put themselves ahead of serving their constituents.’
READ THE REPORT – APP USERS, CLICK HERE:
One example cited by FACT included Wisconsin Democratic Congresswoman Gwen Moore, whose political action committee under her watch spent 94.8% of its funds on things like food and travel, as now catering, food delivery, restaurants, hotels, a resort in California’s Wine and Spirit Country, according to the report.
The report said Moore’s leadership PAC spent nearly eight times more on this than on its required purpose of supporting candidates.
Moore ultimately beat her GOP challenger in November by a wide margin, keeping her in control of the Milwaukee-area congressional district. The congresswoman’s office did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Rep. Gwen Moore (D-WI) speaks at a news conference at the U.S. Capitol building on December 14, 2021 in Washington, DC.
Two other violations in the report include violations of the Hatch Act. The Hatch Act aims to ensure that government operates in a nonpartisan manner and prohibits certain public officials from engaging in political activities while on duty.
The FACT report accused President Joe Biden’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra of sending “a blatantly political email,” two months before the November election, that described in a media report at the time as “a sales pitch for Kamala Harris”.
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The official HHS email was sent to people who signed up to receive updates on the government’s Medicare program, meaning it could have reached as many as 67.5 million recipients, according to FACT. While the email didn’t directly say “vote for Harris,” it praised Harris for casting a tie-breaking vote on the Inflation Reduction Act, noting that Harris’ move served to lower health care costs.
HHS did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Other ethics violations included in FACT’s summary were several instances of misappropriation or misrepresentation of campaign funds.
The report singled out outgoing Maryland Democratic Rep. David Trone, who received backlash during this year’s election cycle for allegedly financing his campaign with money earned through his Total Wine empire despite claiming he had away from his family’s wine business after being elected to Congress in 2018. Trone, who left the House to run for Maryland’s open Senate seat this year — losing in primaries- failed. to disclose his interest in numerous Total Wine franchises before the election, the report alleges.
Representatives for Trone did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Reps. David Trone, D-Md., and Susie Lee, D-Nev., hold a press conference in the House Triangle to introduce a bill to provide financial relief for federal workers brought on by the partial government shutdown on Thursday, January 17, 2019.
The report also claims that Rep.-elect Eugene Vindman, who recently took over Virginia’s 7th congressional district with a victory last month, received campaign contributions that significantly exceeded those allowed under federal law. VoteVets PAC, a political action committee that supports left-wing veterans running for Congress, reportedly engaged in illegal campaigning for Vindman’s campaign by acting as a press liaison.
Vindman’s campaign manager did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
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Together, all these examples and more show what FACT Executive Director Kendra Arnold called “a preview” of what elected officials are like when no one is looking.
“We uncover and file complaints about all kinds of ethics violations, but this year, unfortunately, the ones that stood out on the campaign stage,” Arnold told Fox News Digital. “Of all the types of violations, one could easily argue that those committed to office are among the worst.”
