The Senate Select Committee on Ethics publicly admonished Sen. Jim Justice of West Virginia after finding that he failed to meet federal disclosure law and Senate rules. The committee said the lapse harmed public trust and confidence in the Senate, The Daily Beast reported.
The action is a public rebuke, but Senate rules distinguish a letter of admonition from disciplinary recommendations such as censure, expulsion or restitution. The rules also say an admonition cannot be appealed to the full Senate, according to the Senate Ethics Committee.
A disclosure system meant for public scrutiny
Financial disclosures are intended to let constituents assess officials’ conduct in light of possible conflicts involving private financial holdings, the Senate Ethics Committee says. For continuing senators, annual reports are generally due May 15. Justice received two extensions, setting his deadline at August 13, but filed on September 8, The Washington Sun reported.
The Washington Sun reported that, less than half an hour before the extended deadline, Justice’s filing assistant told the committee that Justice did not intend to submit the report. The assistant had received six committee communications in the preceding six months reminding him of the requirement and offering help, WV MetroNews reported.
In his response, Justice attributed the delay to hardship involving his longtime accountant and filing assistant, whose wife was terminally ill. Justice said the report should have been filed on time; the committee said the hardship did not remove his personal responsibility to comply, according to The Daily Beast.
An unusual filing lapse, within a broader admonition process
WV MetroNews reported that the committee said it had no record of another member failing to file a timely annual financial disclosure in the 47 years since the governing statute was enacted. That reported record concerns late annual disclosures specifically; it does not mean the committee has never issued public admonitions for other conduct.
For example, the committee issued Sen. Robert Menendez a public admonition on April 26, 2018, concerning gifts from Dr. Salomon Melgen and related official actions, according to the committee’s record. It also admonished Sen. Lindsey Graham on March 23, 2023, over campaign solicitations during a November 30, 2022, interview in the Russell Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C., according to the committee’s public letter. Those cases involved different conduct, not late financial disclosures.
