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Pennsylvania Dem John Fetterman Still Has Not Filed Required Financial Disclosure

Fetterman called failure an ‘honest oversight’ that would be fixed—three weeks ago

John Fetterman
John Fetterman / AP
December 16, 2015

When Pennsylvania Democrat John Fetterman failed to file the financial disclosure form required for all Senate candidates, he described it as an honest oversight that would be corrected in a few days.

Three weeks later, the Senate still has received nothing from the Fetterman campaign, according to the Senate’s online database of financial disclosure forms. The Senate’s office of public records confirmed that it has received nothing from the Fetterman campaign.

Fetterman, a mayor from a small town near Pittsburgh, is the only candidate in the Democratic primary race against Katie McGinty and Joe Sestak that has failed to disclose his family assets and the sources of his income.

The Senate Ethics Committee does not discuss individual cases, but its website makes clear that candidate reports are due within 30 days after becoming a candidate for nomination.

The Senate received Fetterman’s statement of candidacy form on Sept. 10, which would set the due date for his disclosure form Oct. 10.

The Senate ethics manual explains that a 30-day grace period is given before fines are issued. That grace period would have ended Nov. 9. Any filing submitted past the grace period must be submitted with a $200 fine unless the committee decides to waive the penalty.

Although that fine is small, if it is determined that a candidate "knowingly and willfully" fails to file, the Ethics in Government Act authorizes the Department of Justice to take over and seek out a $11,000 civil penalty against the candidate.

Fetterman did not initially respond to a request for comment, but called late Wednesday afternoon after seeing the story on Twitter to insist that "there is nothing to" his failure to file the disclosure.

"I look forward to getting it in quickly and showing everybody just how little I’m worth," said Fetterman. "It was a clerical oversight and we are working on getting it in."

Fetterman confirmed that he missed the deadline and said that it is something the campaign is "in the process of addressing."

Asked what is taking him so long, especially given "how little" he says he is worth, Fetterman said that "there hasn't been a holdup." He added that his disclosure would be filed "by the end of the year, if not sooner."

Fetterman had been silent on the status of his disclosure until Wednesday. A Republican tracker caught up with Fetterman on Tuesday night as he entered a brewery for a fundraiser, but his question about the late financial disclosure was ignored.

Fetterman is not the only candidate with financial disclosure issues.

McGinty has already had to re-file her financial disclosure, which initially showed that she was being paid thousands of dollars by a major energy firm even as she was on state payroll working in the governor’s office.

"This is a clerical error that we are working to resolve immediately," the campaign said. The amendment was filed two days after the campaign's initial filing and was posted to the Senate website shortly after.

Republicans are questioning whether Fetterman's failure to file his disclosure means that there is something he is "trying to keep from Pennsylvania voters."

"Fetterman gets a lot of credit for being tall, but no one is above the law," said Alleigh Marré, a spokesperson for the National Republican Senatorial Committee. "Either Fetterman believes the rules don’t apply to him or there is something he’s trying to keep from Pennsylvania voters."

Fetterman’s financial situation is a mystery. This is the small-town mayor’s first run for a major public office, so all that is known to date is that he earns $150 per month from the town of Braddock and that his family lives in a converted warehouse built out of shipping containers.

He has admitted to receiving financial support from his parents to keep up his family’s middle-class lifestyle, though it is unknown what exactly that support entails.

Fetterman’s campaign has gained traction from national media attention it has garnered. He is 6-foot-8, 350 pounds, and covered in tattoos, but he also has a unique story and staunchly progressive views.

On top of that, he has proved that he is a formidable fundraiser, raising more than $170,000 since he announced his campaign. He attended multiple Pennsylvania Society events in New York City this past weekend at the Waldorf Astoria.

Fetterman is usually found wearing a Dickies work shirt and shorts, but stepped it up for the Pennsylvania Society fundraising opportunity.

He wore a tuxedo T-shirt.

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UPDATE 5:15 p.m.: This story has been updated to reflect comment from John Fetterman.

Published under: 2016 Election