Conservative ethics watchdog group Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust on Thursday released a list of eight Democrats it says violated federal ethics laws in 2022.
Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and senior Biden adviser Anita Dunn made the list as did Reps. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore.; Kathy Manning, D-N.C.; Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y.; Susie Lee, D-Nev.; former Reps. Val Demings, D-Fla.; and Cindy Axne, D-Iowa.
"Unfortunately, over the past year, there has been a large spike in ethics violations involving Members of Congress and their personal finances," wrote FACT in the list memo. "This primarily took the form of two types of violations: (1) not disclosing financial interests or (2) instances where personal financial interests intersected with their official duties."
"Regarding the second, Members have an ethical duty to both be transparent and to be extremely careful that these two things don't overlap," the watchdog continued. "There has been a disturbing trend where these types of violations have risen, and we've seen the evidence in the number of ethics complaints filed."
Blumenauer's wife bought shares of the pharmaceutical company Amgen before the Department of Health and Human Services announced it was paying Amgen $290 million for drug supplies.
Blumenauer sits on the subcommittee for the Ways and Means Committee, which oversees HHS.
Manning in February disclosed 51 stock trades worth up to $1.25 million past the required federal deadline. Her husband in September sold up to $30,000 in Microsoft and Amazon shares before Manning voted yes on three antitrust bills.
Suozzi disclosed over $1 million in stock trades late in May and June and Lee failed to disclose over $3 million in stock trades between 2020 and 2022.
Demings and Axne allegedly violated COVID-19 proxy rules, per the report.
Dunn did not file her public financial disclosure report in a timely manner and had apparent conflicts of interest with clients. Granholm, meanwhile, disclosed nine stock trades late in December 2021.