Michele Bachmann fails to file Financial Disclosure Statement on time for 5th consecutive year

Minnesota Congresswoman has a long history of sloppy paperwork and is currently under fire from the FEC for incomplete filings.

By Karl Bremer

Congresswoman Michele Bachmann has been granted yet another extension to file her  2011 Financial Disclosure Statement, which was due in the House of Representative’s Clerk’s Office May 16. But this isn’t the only time Bachmann has been tardy in filing her Financial Disclosure Statement. In fact, Bachmann has never filed her Congressional Financial Disclosure Statement on time since she’s been in office.

Bachmann’s 2007 Financial Disclosure Statement was due on May 15, 2007. She filed it on June 13, 2007.

Bachmann’s 2008 Financial Disclosure Statement was due on May 15, 2008. She filed it on June 16, 2008.

Bachmann’s 2009 Financial Disclosure Statement was due on May 15, 2009. She filed it on June 26, 2009.

Bachmann’s 2010 Financial Disclosure Statement was due on May 17, 2010. She filed it on June 16, 2010.

Bachmann’s 2011 Financial Disclosure Statement was due in the Clerk’s office on May 16. She’s now been granted a second extension to August 12 to file it.

Besides being late every year in filing her Financial Disclosure Statements, Bachmann’s 2008 statement remains incomplete. The financial portion for the Bachmann Farm Family LP in Independence, WI—the infamous Bachmann family farm that has harvested hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal farm subsidies—remains missing from the report three years after it was due.

Members of Congress are given a grace period of 30 days past the due date in which they can still file their Financial Disclosure Statement without penalty. The form clearly states that “A $200 penalty shall be assessed against anyone who files more than 30 days late." Based on that warning, Bachmann should have been fined $200 for her 2009 Financial Disclosure Statement, which was filed 42 days late.

Bachmann’s sloppy Financial Disclosure Statement history is nothing new for the congresswoman. The Federal Elections Commission (FEC) and the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Disclosure Board have found repeated discrepancies and shortcomings in her filings with those agencies over the years as well. Most recently, Bachmann’s so-called leadership Political Action Committee, MICHELEPAC, was called on the carpet by the FEC for incomplete reports.

Bachmann remains one of only 35 members of Congress who have failed to file their 2011 Financial Disclosure Statements yet.