End Citizens United Files Ethics Complaint Against Dave Brat

Brat misused campaign funds and failed to disclose personal income – should be investigated by the Office of Congressional Ethics immediately

End Citizens United (ECU) today filed a complaint with the House Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) against Congressman Dave Brat. The complaint states Brat violated the Federal Election Campaign Act, the Ethics in Government Act, and the rules of the United States House of Representatives by failing to disclose any information about his book, American Underdog, on his personal financial disclosures and using his website to promote the sale of his book. Brat’s misuse of campaign funds and failure to properly disclose income from his book should be investigated by the OCE immediately.

“It didn’t take long for Dave Brat to immerse himself in the culture of corruption in Washington,” said End Citizens United President Tiffany Muller. “Instead of fighting on behalf of Virginia families, Brat is misusing his campaign funds for his own personal gains. And he’s trying to hide it by keeping it off his financial disclosure form. Brat has spent his time in Congress stacking the deck to benefit himself and the special interests and big donors that fund his campaign, all while Virginians suffer. The OCE should immediately investigate and hold Rep. Brat accountable.”

The Violations:

• Representative Brat’s campaign website devotes more than the one-to-two sentences that are allowed to promote a book. Assuming Representative Brat receives royalties from the sale of his book, he appears to be improperly using his campaign funds for his personal benefit, in violation of FECA and House ethics rules.

• On his personal financial disclosures, Representative Brat failed to disclose any income form the sales of his book, failed to report the value of his intellectual property in the book, and failed to disclose an agreement with his publishing company. Even if Representative Brat did not receive any income from sales of his book in 2016 or 2017, he appeared to have violated Ethics in Government Act of 1978 and House rules by filing a false report that did not disclose his interest in the book or his publishing agreement.

Click here to read the complaint.