Sudden sunlight: GOP House hopeful reveals personal finances after Raw Story investigation
A Republican congressional candidate in one of the nation's most competitive 2024 House races has publicly disclosed his personal finances, as required by federal law, after a Raw Story investigation revealed he had failed to do so.
Tom Barrett, a former Michigan state senator and representative who is running for the House seat in Michigan’s 7th District, filed his candidate financial disclosure report on Nov. 2, a day after Raw Story reported he was nearly three months late in filing his disclosure.
Barrett's campaign told Raw Story on Oct. 31 that he was "in the process of filing."
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Barrett reported more than three-dozen retirement investments between himself and his spouse, along with up to $15,000 each in two bank accounts, according to the Nov. 2 disclosure. He reported earning $29,000 in contracted services for Valley Strategies, LLC.
Per the guidelines from the House Committee on Ethics and the Ethics in Government Act, Barrett needed to file his financial disclosure 30 days after registering his candidacy with the Federal Election Commission and raising at least $5,000.
According to a Raw Story review of federal election fundraising data, Barrett filed his statement of candidacy on July 7 and raised $5,000 by July 10, meaning his disclosure was due Aug. 9.
The Ethics in Government Act says that “knowing and willful failure to file, report required information on, or falsification of a public financial disclosure report” could be subject to investigation by the Department of Justice.
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Such an offense would have a maximum civil penalty of $71,316 and a maximum criminal penalty of five years in federal prison plus a fine of up to $250,000, according to 2023 guidance from the House Committee on Ethics, although it’s exceedingly rare that this law is enforced to its full extent, if it’s enforced at all.
Nevertheless, numerous members of Congress have themselves violated federal laws governing how federal lawmakers disclosure their personal finances. Some lawmakers have introduced legislation that would stiffen penalties for non-compliance or even ban members of Congress from trading individual stocks.
This will be Barrett’s second time running for the House seat in the Michigan swing district, losing by five points to Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) in 2022.
He is set to face Democrat Curtis Hertel Jr., a former state senator and legislative director for Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
Slotkin will be vacating her seat to run for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI).