Tammy Baldwin's Financial Disclosure Hypocrisy
Baldwin Calls for Ethics Code for Supreme Court While Ducking Her Own Conflicts of Interest
People of all political stripes can agree we want financial transparency of our government officials. So does Senator Tammy Baldwin—until it’s time for her to disclose her own finances.
In her recent debate with Eric Hovde, Baldwin appeased her radical left-wing supporters by waging dishonest allegations of corruption against the Supreme Court, targeting one justice in particular: “With regard to the Supreme Court of the United States, there is no trust anymore. When we saw the exposés about Clarence Thomas and others going on private planes to exotic locations, when we hear stories that private interests have paid off mortgages and vehicle loans, that's outrageous.” Keep in mind that the exposés she refers to are likely from ProPublica, which can hardly be accused of taking easy on conservatives.
(READ MORE: Meet Eric Hovde, the Republican Taking On Tammy Baldwin)
ProPublica’s accusations amount to Justice Thomas being guilty of exchanging gifts with a close friend who has never had business before the court and with whom he has never discussed pending or lower court cases. The authors found a few ethics experts to support its assertions of misconduct because they cannot dispute Thomas followed the requirements for reporting and sought the guidance of his colleagues. There was never intent to deceive or hide. Yet Baldwin cosponsored legislation imposing new disclosure requirements on the Supreme Court in response to stories of a nonexistent conflict of interest.
The same cannot be said for Senator Baldwin, whose intimate relationship with Wall Street wealth advisor Maria Brisbane raises eyebrows of its own. Brisbane previously managed a biotechnology mutual fund, an industry benefitting from biomedical research and engineering conducted by the Department of Heath and Human Services and the National Institutes of Health. As Chair of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee overseeing the Department of Health and Human Services, Baldwin is involved in the appropriations process funding this research. Brisbane stands to profit far more from Baldwin’s work in government than Justice Thomas does in the ProPublica accusations.
Last year, Baldwin cosponsored legislation banning Members of Congress, their spouses, and their dependents from owning or managing investments. Notably, this would not apply to her partner.
Tammy Baldwin's Selective Ethics
Brisbane and Baldwin aren’t married and as such Baldwin is not required to disclose Brisbane’s income in her annual financial disclosures. That distinction didn’t stop her in the past when she voluntarily disclosed real estate assets were jointly held with a previous partner. As it so happens, Baldwin and Brisbane currently co-own property in Washington, DC which is not indicated as jointly held on Baldwin’s financial disclosures.
Baldwin knows her lack of transparency related to her partner’s finances is a vulnerability—when he brought it up during their debate, she shot back, “Eric Hovde should stay out of my personal life.” This defense doesn’t make sense when she actively avoids opening her personal life to the same scrutiny she expects others to abide by. Her financial opacity is a greater concern and more relevant to voters than the “allegations” she levels against Justice Thomas.
(Learn more about radical Tammy Baldwin at SenatorForMadison.com)
