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One Texas Democrat Is In A Rush To Leave Congress

Zach Everson
Staff Writer
MARCH 24, 2022
Rep. Filemon Vela (D-Texas) plans to announce in the next few weeks that he will resign early from Congress to begin a job at the law firm and lobbying firm Akin Gump, the congressman told Checks & Imbalances on Thursday.

In January, Vela (D-Texas), who had already said he would not seek reelection, informed the House Committee on Ethics that, as a result of his “negotiation or agreement regarding future employment,” he was recusing himself from any matter regarding Akin Gump.

The five-term lawmaker confirmed that he will join the firm full-time to practice law in its public-policy practice. Before officially announcing his resignation, Vela said he wanted to see what the Senate would do with a bill he had sponsored to transfer property to Texas’s Palo Alto Battlefield National Historical Park, which the House passed earlier this month.

“The timing now, with just nine months left in the term,” Vela said. “I’m just ready to go.”

Vela said that while one of his reasons for picking Akin Gump was the firm’s “deep Texas history,” he’d be based in its D.C. offices.

Earlier this year, Akin Gump announced it had hired Vela’s chief of staff. “Akin Gump is lucky to have him,” Vela was quoted as saying in the firm’s press release about the hiring.
Rep. Filemon Vela's (D-Texas) filed this statement of recusal regarding Akin Gump with the House Committee on Ethics in January. House of Representatives Committee on Ethics/Rep. Filemon Vela
Welcome to the latest issue of Checks & Imbalances
Today we look at Nancy Pelosi's husband going long on Tesla and Madeline Albright’s generosity as a political donor.

Checks & Imbalances publishes on Mondays and Thursdays. Please support this work, if you can, by subscribing to Forbes. Any tips or suggestions? Email me at zeverson@forbes.com.  And you can follow me on Twitter at @z_everson. Thanks! 
In Case You Missed It
Pelosi Exercises Tesla Stock Options To Buy $2 Million In Shares
"In a regulatory filing unveiled Monday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) disclosed her financier husband purchased more than $2 million in Tesla stock last week," reports Jonathan Ponciano for Forbes.

Buoyed by a broader-market recovery on Tuesday, Tesla shares have skyrocketed about 10% since Pelosi's purchase, including 8% on Tuesday alone; however, the stock is still down nearly 19% from an all-time high set in November. It's not the first high-priced options bet Pelosi has placed on big-tech stocks: Last year, Paul Pelosi reportedly made about $5 million on options contracts tied to Alphabet stock.

Read more: Pelosi Exercises Tesla Stock Options To Buy $2 Million In Shares
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi during her weekly news conference in Washington last Thursday. Associated Press
Continuing Irresolutions
Updates on Checks & Imbalances’ previous reporting

Closing arguments began on Thursday in the government’s case accusing Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R-Neb.) of lying to the FBI, reported KETV. Fortenberry has denied the charges, and his defense reportedly centered on a claim that he did not hear a phone call clearly. His campaign reported spending $158,000 on legal fees last year. Fortenberry also launched a legal expense trust in August.


*****

In December, the Office of Congressional Ethics voted unanimously to dismiss allegations that Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) had failed to include required information about her book deal on her annual disclosures, in a statement released Tuesday. In September, her agent said that Omar hadn’t made any money from the book to disclose.


*****

Former President Donald Trump rescinded his endorsement of  Rep. Mo Brooks’ (R-Ala.) Senate campaign, saying Brooks was going “woke” by not pushing to overturn the results of the 2020 election. After Brooks’ campaign spent $25,000 at Trump’s Palm Beach club in the second quarter of 2021, Brooks said via a spokesperson that he wanted to “do fundraisers at Mar-a-Lago as often as I can.” His campaign, though, has not reported any disbursements at a Trump property since. 

One of Brooks' opponents, Mike Durant, met with Trump this week at Mar-a-Lago, the New York Times reported.

Oopsies

On Wednesday, the Senate campaign of Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt amended its 2021 year-end report after the Federal Election Commission asked for clarification about seven issues. Among those issues: possible excessive contributions, donations from LLCs, contributions from a conduit and failure to describe itemized disbursements. The FEC has not yet processed the amended filing. Schmitt’s campaign did not immediately respond to an inquiry.
Intriguing Investments

Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright made $395,000 in political donations between 1978 and 2021, according to records with the FEC. Her largest single donation, $7,500, came in 2016 in support of Hillary Clinton. Albright died Wednesday at the age of 84. 
Tracking Trump

Former National Security Advisor and current conspiracy peddler Michael Flynn is co-hosting a fundraiser for Floridian Darlene Swaffar's congressional campaign at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday. Tickets start at $1,000. 
Constant Contact/Swaffar for Congress.
  • "Trump Is Guilty of ‘Numerous’ Felonies, Prosecutor Who Resigned Says" (New York Times)
  • "Trump’s Campaign Was Ordered To Pay $350,000 For Trying To Enforce An “Unenforceable” Nondisclosure Agreement" (BuzzFeed News)
  • "Trump sues Hillary Clinton, DNC and others, alleging conspiracy to link his campaign to Russia" (CNN)
  • "Donald Trump Jr. launches news aggregation app" (Axios)
Editor's Picks
  • "Mini-Benioff Makes His Mega-Play" (Puck)
  • "Henry Cuellar becomes latest Democrat to distance himself from Koch Industries over company’s Russia ties" (CNBC)
  • "Ted Cruz’s Latest Troll? Turning His Campaign Into a Super PAC" (The Daily Beast)
  • "Russian oligarch made political contributions to Sen. Schumer and the oligarch’s associates spent millions on U.S. influence" (Open Secrets)
  • "Facebook ranks first in House's 2021 Big Tech spending" (LegiStorm)
  • "Donors from outside of Wyoming make up the majority of Rep. Liz Cheney’s record-breaking fundraising during the 2022 election cycle" (OpenSecrets)
  • "More than 100 House Republicans to cohost fundraiser for Cheney challenger" (Politico)
  • "GOP Rep. John Rutherford of Florida bought Raytheon stock the same day Russia invaded Ukraine" (Insider)
  • "Democratic Rep. Brad Schneider of Illinois violated a conflicts-of-interest law with late stock-trade disclosures. His office blames a missed mouse click." (Insider)
  • "GOP hopeful Katie Arrington says SC's Nancy Mace used taxpayer money to campaign. Did she?" (The State)
  • "These six corporations are financing an assault on reproductive rights in six states" (Popular Information)
  • "Tennessee House Speaker, other lawmakers subpoenaed by federal grand jury" (News 5 Nashville)
United States National Park

Oh don't leave me here alone by the campfire

United States National Park

I don't wanna die alone by the campfire

The Drums, "U.S. National Park"
Zach Everson
Forbes staff writer
I took an unusual route to get here. In a past life, I worked as a travel and food writer, which is how I got the assignment in 2016 to cover the grand opening of the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., just a couple miles from my home. When Trump won the election and refused to divest his business, I stayed on the story, starting a newsletter called 1100 Pennsylvania (named after the hotel’s address), and contributed to Vanity Fair, Politico and NBC News. I’m still interested in Trump, but I’ve broadened my focus to follow the money connected to other politicians as well—both Republicans and Democrats.
Follow me on Twitter.
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