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Sen. Jim Justice, R-W.Va., is the first U.S. Senator in modern history to be publicly admonished by the Select Committee on Ethics for failing to file an annual financial disclosure on time.
A letter to Justice from the committee reads: “The Committee finds your failure to file your report before the statutory deadline violated federal law and Senate Rules and, accordingly, issues you this Public Letter of Admonition.”
The Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. § 13101) mandates members of the Senate to file an annual financial disclosure by May 15 of each calendar year. Justice requested and received two filing extensions for a total of 90 days. That gave him a filing date of Aug. 13.
According to the letter of admonition, “In the six months before your filing deadline, your filing assistant acknowledged six separate Committee communications reminding you of the deadline and offering Committee assistance.” Thirty minutes before that deadline, Justice’s staff notified the committee he would not be filing.
On Aug. 24, the committee directed Justice to file the report by Aug. 28. It was ultimately filed on Sept. 8.
“In the 47 years since the governing statute was enacted, the Committee has no record of any other Member failing to file a timely annual financial disclosure report. While you recently made the Committee aware that your personal accountant and filing assistant experienced a significant family hardship in the final months before your filing deadline, circumstances for which the Committee has great compassion, this does not abrogate your personal responsibility as a U.S. Senator to comply with governing federal law.”
Throughout the summer, as this report was due, Justice was locked in a financial battle over the ownership of The Greenbrier Resort. Court filings alleged the Justices owed roughly $300 million. The family ultimately entered into a joint venture that gave Kennedy Lewis Investment Management in New York a 51% stake in the resort, eliminated the debt and provided funds for property updates.
In a statement provided to West Virginia Public Broadcasting, Justice said, “Over the summer, our family businesses were dealing with a highly complex legal dispute over the future of the Greenbrier. During this time, our great friend and longtime accountant was dealing with the terminal illness of his wife. Admittedly, we did not fully appreciate the significance of filing the financial disclosure late. Nevertheless, it should have been filed on time, period. It won’t happen again.”
The committee’s letter of admonishment was signed by Sen. James Lankford, R-Oklahoma, and Sen. Chris Coons, D-Delaware.