Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty
When Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY) came before congressional investigators earlier this year to explain why he hadn’t disclosed hundreds of stock trades in a timely manner, the Long Island congressman currently running for governor had quite the explanation.
Suozzi actually told investigators he was too busy to deal with the “formality” of reporting hundreds of trades—and actually pinned the blame on the ethics office for not sending him constant reminders or issuing him a dedicated staffer devoted to compliance.
“Quite frankly, we have a lot going on in Congress. I have a lot of other stuff going on. And it’s just not—ethics is a big priority for me. But… the… some of the formalities are not necessarily something I make a priority of,” the congressman said, according to a deposition transcript.