A liberal watchdog group is calling for an investigation into Inland Empire Rep. Ken Calvert, the longest-serving Republican in California's congressional delegation.
Campaign finance reform group End Citizens United filed a complaint Tuesday with the Office of Congressional Ethics alleging that Calvert failed to disclose information about several rental properties he owns in Riverside County.
The complaint follows a Times article about Calvert's use of the legislative process known as “earmarking” to secure more than $100 million in taxpayer funds for his district, including more than $16 million for transportation projects just miles from his own rental properties.
“This is a baseless complaint from a far-left super PAC that supported Ken's opponent and, worse, is wrong about the facts,” said Calvin Moore, a spokesman for Calvert's re-election campaign.
Questions about Calvert’s real estate investments have resurfaced as the veteran congressman faces Democrat Will Rollins, a former federal prosecutor. California’s 47th Congressional District, which includes Corona and Palm Springs, is considered one of the most competitive races in the country.
The Times found that Calvert failed to disclose the purchase of an auto repair center in Corona that he acquired in 2016, an omission his office described as a clerical error. The property is located about a mile from a bridge that received $2 million in funds allocated through Calvert’s office.
Calvert's office said Calvert purchased the property with his brothers for $2.25 million in September 2016 and had an 11% stake in the deal, valued at $247,000.
Moore said Calvert has “always gone above and beyond to provide transparency in its financial statements.” Calvert filed six years of amended financial statements last week to disclose its purchase of the auto repair center.
The complaint filed Tuesday also alleged that Calvert failed to report the purchase of two other properties, in Corona and Palm Springs. Jason Gagnon, a spokesman for Calvert's office, said one property was properly disclosed and the other was a personal loan that Calvert disclosed “even though he was not required to do so.”
The Office of Congressional Ethics is an independent, non-subpoena-powered group that reviews allegations against members of the House of Representatives and, in some cases, refers cases to the House Ethics Committee for further investigation.
