WILKES-BARRE — A report published in Legistorm, a non-partisan, for-profit company that researches, verifies and publishes information about members of Congress and congressional staff since 2006, stated that U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser “failed to report in a timely way that his wife and children purchased as much as $600,000 worth of stock at the depths of the pandemic stock market crash.”
The Legistorm report said Meuser, R-Dallas, “finally made the disclosure on Wednesday with the House Clerk’s office, more than a year after the law requires.”
The disclosure detailed in the Legistorm story indicates that between March 26 and March 31, 2020, Meuser’s dependent children purchased between $107,023 and $555,000 worth of stock in Visa Inc., Walt Disney Co., Microsoft Corp. and Google’s parent Alphabet Inc., while Meuser’s wife purchased between $3,003 and $45,000 worth of Visa, Microsoft and Alphabet stock on March 26 of that year.
The Legistorm story states all of the stocks have soared since then, most notably Alphabet. As of Thursday’s closing, Alphabet’s stock has increased more than 150 percent since initially purchased by Meuser’s family, the story said, adding that the Alphabet purchase alone could have netted the family as much as $150,000 or more, but broad ranges provided in the disclosures make it impossible to know how much.
Meuser responds
Meuser, 57, is a Republican serving his second term as the U.S. Representative from the 9th Congressional District. He is also considering running for the GOP nomination for governor. Meuser said Tuesday that he has not decided whether or not he will enter that race.
Regarding the Legistorm report about the stock buys, Meuser released a statement:
“Upon being sworn into Congress, I complied with all personal financial requirements. I had any brokers involved in my personal financial business instructed and educated on the House Ethics Committee’s requirements for Members of Congress. This was done and it was thoroughly informed.
“Since entering Congress, I have had no dialogue related to personal investments other than what is allowed related to mutual funds. The reallocation of assets occurred without my knowledge, and my broker who handled the transaction did so legally, and at his own discretion.
“Unfortunately, I have been made aware that my broker failed to report this reallocation in a timely manner. This was simply human error. The House Ethics Committee has been made aware, and I have received no word from the committee that a rule has been broken besides late reporting.
“This is all news to me, and I am very unhappy about it. The rules are very clear, and unfortunately this is a case of human error.”
Meuser said his office contacted the House Committee on Ethics Tuesday and was informed of a late filing fee of $200. He said the fee will meet all statutory requirements for a late filing.
Meuser also provided a statement from the account manager.
“To Whom It May Concern:
“Under the management arrangement, the manager is legally empowered to act with limited power of attorney to make buys and sell on behalf of the accounts. The manager is not required to get approval or input from Congressman Meuser before transacting.
“In all cases, it was an administrative error on the part of manager in failing to report the trades to the appropriate regulatory body within the designated time frame.”