Mike Johnson Comes Under Pressure Over His Finances

House Speaker Mike Johnson is facing calls to be investigated over alleged "repeated violations" while filing his financial disclosure statements (PFDs).

End Citizens United, a grassroots progressive political group, has written to the Office of Congressional Ethics and asked them to look into Johnson's finances over claims he has "blatantly omitted" reportable information and made numerous errors in several of his filings since he was first elected to Congress in 2016.

Among some of the key allegations from the group are that the newly elected House Speaker failed to disclose multiple trips paid for by private entities and did not fully report the source of his wife's income, nor her ownership interests in a privately-held business.

The Office of Congressional Ethics has also been asked to investigate Johnson for failing to list having a personal bank account on his financial disclosure, or disclosing any retirement assets. It was previously reported that Johnson never listed having a savings or checking account in his or his wife Kelly's name, or in the name of any of his children.

Johnson listed having a retirement account with less than $15,000 in 2016, but has not mentioned it in subsequent filings. As noted by CNN, this could mean the money was moved into a retirement savings account used by federal employees, which was reported between 2017 and 2020. Johnson could have also cashed out the account, or it now has less than $5,000 in it.

In a recent interview with Fox News, Johnson was asked why he has not declared a bank account or assets on a financial disclosure going back to 2016. In response, Johnson replied: "I'm a man of modest means."

Tiffany Muller, president of End Citizens United, told The Daily Beast it is "laughable" that Johnson did not report any savings or retirement accounts, while accusing the House Speaker of "clearly violating federal laws" in his financial disclosures.

"The American people deserve to know whether the Speaker of the House has financial conflicts of interests, but Speaker Johnson is clearly violating federal laws by hiding critical information from the public," Muller said.

"It's laughable to believe that the person leading government funding negotiations doesn't have a reportable savings or retirement account. But beyond his own potential financial mismanagement, failing to disclose travel and his spouse's sources of income is against the law and the Office of Congressional Ethics must investigate and hold him accountable."

Johnson's office has been contacted for comment via email.

According to End Citizens United's complaint, Johnson failed to report at least two separate trips that were paid for by private sources.One, an all-expenses-paid trip to Israel in February 2020 to an event sponsored by the 12 Tribe Films Foundation, cost $17,950. Johnson also allegedly accepted a free trip in April 2022 to Williamstown, Kentucky, which was paid for by Christian fundamentalist group, Answers in Genesis.

"These blatant omissions are clear violations of federal law and show a disregard for the Act's important transparency goals that allow the public to know what groups have privately funded the Speaker's travel," the letter to the Office of Congressional Ethics said.

Johnson also allegedly failed to disclose his wife's interest in Onward Christian Counseling Services, a private company owned by Kelly Johnson.

The complaint states that if Kelly Johnson's interest in the company is valued at more than $1,000 or generated more than $200 in unearned income, the Louisiana Republican is required to disclose that interest on his PFDs, which he failed to do.

"In fact, as noted above, Speaker Johnson has never reported a single asset held by his spouse in any of the eight reports he has filed," End Citizens United said.

The complaint could end up in a referral to the Standards Committee or a complete dismissal by the Office of Congressional Ethics, although any decision either way could take weeks.