The Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT), an ethics advocacy group, on Tuesday called for an investigation into Sen. Joe Manchin (D., W.Va.), filing a complaint with the Senate Select Committee on Ethics for failing to properly disclose his ownership in AA Properties, LLC.
Manchin and longtime Democratic operative Larry Puccio own AA Properties, which owns interests in other companies that were involved in bankruptcy and other litigation.
Manchin had acknowledged his ownership of AA Properties in past disclosures but not all of AA Properties' assets. Manchin had also reportedly indicated that AA Properties was part of a blind trust, but it is not.
"There is absolutely no reason and no excuse for a U.S. Senator to not file accurate financial disclosures," FACT Executive Director Kendra Arnold said. "The facts here show that Senator Manchin tried to cover-up his financial interests and mislead the media and the public."
"Our elected officials are legally obligated to file personal financial disclosures that are comprehensive and forthcoming in nature, which includes listing all investment interests, to monitor and guard against potential conflicts of interests and to help ensure transparency and integrity in government," Arnold said. "Not only did Senator Manchin try to thwart this effort, we still don’t know what he is hiding with respect to this financial arrangement."
Senate rules mandate regular filings of full financial disclosure forms with the Senate.