Legal Filings

Legal Filings

CREW Asks DOJ to Investigate Rep. Vern Buchanan for Additional Crimes

Washington, D.C. – Today, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) asked the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the FBI to investigate Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) for new crimes, in addition to those already the subject of a DOJ investigation.  The Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) recently forwarded a report to the House Ethics Committee for further inquiry after finding reason to believe Rep. Buchanan had failed to include positions he held and income he had received on his personal financial disclosure forms (PFDs).  Intentionally filing false PFDs is a criminal offense punishable by up to five years in prison as well as a violation of House ethics rules.

CREW Executive Director Melanie Sloan stated, “Rep. Buchanan’s list of crimes is seemingly unending.  There is already a criminal investigation into whether he violated campaign finance laws, and last August we had asked DOJ to explore whether he had also engaged in witness tampering, obstruction of justice, and bribery.  Now it seems the congressman may have added false statements to his portfolio.”

The OCE found Rep. Buchanan had failed to disclose 17 positions held as well as $14,315 in income in his 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010 PFDs.  When interviewed by OCE investigators, the congressman variously explained that some omissions were “oversights,” and others were “technical oversights.”  Asked why he had failed to disclose serving on the board of a home owners’ association, he claimed not to have known he was a director.  He even failed to list his position as president of the Vernon G. and Sandra J.C. Buchanan Family Foundation, Inc., lamely claiming “our people missed it.”  Following the OCE investigation, Rep. Buchanan amended his PFDs to include the missing information.

Sloan continued, “Given that DOJ is already investigating whether Rep. Buchanan committed a host of crimes, surely prosecutors also can consider whether he made false statements to Congress.  Simply sending the matter to the House Ethics Committee is insufficient.  First, who can have any confidence in a committee itself under an ethics investigation?  In any event, deliberately filing false PFDs isn’t just an ethics violation, it is a federal crime.”

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) is a non-profit legal watchdog group dedicated to holding public officials accountable for their actions. For more information, please visit www.citizensforethics.org or contact Garrett Russo at 202.408.5565 or grusso@citizensforethics.org