Ethics Complaint Filed Against Senator Kyrsten Sinema Over 'Troubling' Issue
CORRECTIONS, Dec. 7, 2023: Lindsey Buckman, who lives with Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, according to the American Accountability Foundation complaint, is a woman. In addition, Kari Lake is one of several Republican candidates vying for Sinema’s seat in the Senate; the GOP primary election will be held Aug. 6, 2024. An earlier version of this article was incorrect on those points.
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema on Monday became the subject of a complaint from a conservative organization over a failure to make financial disclosures required by federal law.
Tom Jones, president of the American Accountability Foundation, told Fox News on Tuesday that reporting her finances was more than just a legal requirement, however.
“Sen. Sinema has a moral and legal obligation to fully disclose the details of her finances,” Jones said, according to Fox. “The fact that she hasn’t done so is highly suspicious and troubling.”
The complaint revolves around Sinema’s relationship with Lindsey Buckman, who is the bisexual senator’s “romantic partner,” according to The Intercept.
In 2013, Sinema asked the House Ethics Committee to treat Buckman, an Arizona psychologist with whom the senator lives, as her “spouse in all but title” so that Buckman could travel with her at government expense, according to the AAF complaint.
Since then, however, she has not reported any of Buckman’s assets or income on disclosures, though senators are required to include such information about their spouses on such documents.
If she wanted Buckman treated like her spouse then, the group argues, she should have treated Buckman as her spouse ever since.
“While Senator Sinema appears to believe Dr. Buckman is just like a spouse for the purpose of $7737.15 junkets to Israel funded by outside groups, she does not seem to believe that the spousal designation applies for the purposes of financial disclosures,” the complaint argued.
The AAF is a nonprofit group that investigates “personnel, policy, and spending” in an effort to inform the American public about issues related to government oversight, according to its website.
“AAF deploys aggressive research and investigations to advance conservative messaging, rapid response, and Congressional investigations; while heavily scrutinizing politicians and establishment organizations, policies, and projects,” the website says.
Jones said Sinema’s inconsistency called her motives into question.
“The American people deserve to know that their elected officials are making decisions based on what benefits the American people, and not based on what benefits them financially,” he told Fox. “Yet Sen. Sinema’s failure to disclose the nature of this relationship makes it impossible for the American people to have confidence in her motives.”
You can read the complaint in its entirety below.
AAF complaint by JoeSchoffstall
Sinema’s office did not respond to a request for comment from Fox, but National Republican Senatorial Committee spokesman Tate Mitchell noted that Sinema’s lack of openness was particularly important given that she has not yet announced whether she plans to run for re-election to the Senate next year.
“Kyrsten Sinema’s failure to disclose her assets and potential conflicts of interest raises serious ethical questions as she flirts with asking Arizonans for their vote again,” Mitchell told Fox. “Arizonans deserve to have an honest broker serving them in the Senate, not another shady D.C. politician.”
Though Sinema — who left the Democratic Party to become an independent last year — has made no formal announcement about 2024, NBC News noted that she was clearly considering it.
“[H]er political team has been mapping out a campaign strategy, pitching donors and potential supporters on how she can win the marquee Senate race,” the outlet wrote in September.
Former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake is the leading GOP contender in the race, while Arizona Rep. Ruben Gallego is the top Democrat.
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