What’s up with Speaker Johnson not reporting a bank account? Article is gifted so you should be able to read the ridiculous, possibly corrupt situation https://t.co/XWzS6xo3iT
— Rebel Rice (@RebelRice) November 7, 2023
From Catherine Rampell, at the Washington Post — “What’s up with Speaker Johnson not reporting a bank account?”:
… Johnson’s recent launch from obscure congressional backbencher to one of the most powerful people in the country has come with a wave of scrutiny. Reporters are combing through his past and finding weird stuff — his curious arrangement with his son to monitor each others’ digital devices for porn, for instance.
One less salacious but perhaps more consequential discovery involves his finances. In his most recent annual financial disclosures, released last year, Johnson (R-La.) reports no assets at all…
There are no retirement accounts, no money-market funds, no stocks, no crypto, not even a basic checking or savings account. Even more peculiar, his disclosures have never listed any checking or savings accounts on any of the forms he has filed going back to 2016, the year he was elected to Congress.
This is confusing. Where is his congressional salary being deposited? How is he paying his bills?…
… Rank-and-file federal representatives… draw a sizable congressional salary of $174,000 (which gets bumped up to $223,500 for the speaker).
That’s not Johnson’s only income, either, as he earns another $30,000 annually for teaching at Liberty University. His wife receives multiple salaries, too; the exact amounts of her salaries were not disclosed in Johnson’s most recent financial reports, but based on prior years’ data, the household is likely pulling in at least $211,000 total. That’s close to the 90th percentile. And note that other members of Congress of “modest” backgrounds still somehow report having bank accounts…
Johnson’s office did not respond to questions I sent about his financial disclosures by publication time. Then, early Tuesday morning, Politico reported that his office told its own reporter that Johnson does indeed have a bank account. His account does not pay interest, though, which makes it exempt from House disclosure rules.
Holding your family’s entire savings in a non-interest-bearing account is a strange choice for a high-income household, particularly during a period of high inflation. But more important, this arrangement still leaves voters in the dark about Johnson’s financial well-being. Whatever Johnson’s motivation for managing his money this way, the effect is to obscure what his resources actually look like and whether he’s under the kind of financial strain that other parts of his disclosures might suggest.
People of all levels of income have money troubles, of course, and it’s usually no one’s business. But those who hold the public trust are different. Whether it’s the leader of the free world or the leader of the people’s house, the public has a right to know whether their elected officials are facing serious financial difficulties — particularly ones that might make them targets for unsavory characters and influence-buying or that might tempt them to misuse campaign funds. This is not exactly unprecedented.
This is why we have financial disclosures in the first place: so Americans can judge whether public servants are truly serving the public interest or their own. Yes, a loophole allows Johnson to keep secret the value of his financial assets. If Johnson wants to prove he’s worthy of his unexpected promotion, though, he should release more information about what’s really happening with his finances.
So… ‘best’ scenario, he’s another Duncan Hunter, trying to support a lifestyle he can’t really afford and juggling accounts to hide the evidence. Me, I still suspect he’s hiding ‘donations’ from the usual GOP dark-money forces, for the predictable reasons. Yeah, corrupt as his whole party is, I still don’t see MAGA Mike holding his speaker chair for even as long as Kevin McCarthy managed to hold it…
So now he's a comedian?
Speaker Johnson on GOP plan to avert government shutdown: ‘Trust us’ https://t.co/gidgQV76D6— barbara W (@barbarajwic) November 7, 2023
Congress appeared deadlocked Tuesday on a path to avert a federal shutdown in less than two weeks, as House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) floated a plan to finance the government that drew criticism from senators of both parties.
Johnson told Americans to “trust us,” as he pitched a staggered Republican approach to fund the government, one that has little chance of success in the Democratic-controlled Senate. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) hours later admonished the speaker and Republicans for fiscal brinkmanship.
Federal appropriations will lapse at 12:01 a.m. on Nov. 18 if there is no action, affecting a wide array of federal services and the government’s more than 3 million civilian and military employees. The imminent funding deadline joins a to-do list on Capitol Hill that includes emergency aid for Israel and Ukraine, which also has no obvious path to passage amid fierce disputes among lawmakers.
Speaking to reporters at a news conference with families of Israelis taken hostage by Hamas, Johnson referred to a closed-door meeting of House Republicans on Tuesday morning as a “refreshing, constructive family conversation” as members of his caucus push competing approaches to extending government spending laws.
“I’m not going to tell you when we will bring it to the floor, but it will be in time, how about that? Trust us: We’re working through the process in a way that I think that people will be proud of,” Johnson said. The speaker added that “many options … are on the table, and we’ll be revealing what our plan is in short order.” …
… And it will be, like Monty Python’s Norwegian Blue, an ex-parrot!
Maxim
That House disclosure rule is ridiculous and needs to be changed asap.
Jeffro
The U.S. really needs much higher requirements for those who would file for, run for, and hold federal office. Reps, Senators, VPs, and Presidents alike.
Scout211
Translation: “blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah blah. So there. Now shut up.”
Classy. This guy really knows what he’s doing. 🙄
Mr. Bemused Senior
Going with the Python theme, terriers make lovely fish. What this has to do with funding the Federal government, I have no idea.
Baud
Applicable for only certain definitions of people.
randy khan
As we sit here on November 8, my suspicion is that the House Republicans will cough up whatever hairball they devise as a continuing resolution somewhere around the 16th of November, and maybe even on the 17th, in a stupid attempt to jam up the Senate, which will fail immediately. Part of this is that they’re that dysfunctional, part of it is that the Republican caucus seems to be about 75% the kind of people who think that’s a clever trick.
Old School
OK, so non-interest bearing checking account can explain the absence of one from the forms. Still – no house? No retirement accounts?
MattF
@Mr. Bemused Senior: And his hovercraft is full of eels.
dmsilev
Hmm. Skimming briefly through that disclosure instructions document, he’s claiming that he doesn’t have any 529 funds for his children. No retirement savings in a 401k from his time as a lawyer. No investment income whatsoever, even a CD or some savings bonds that his grandparents gave him on his 21st birthday. Nothing. Not even cryptocurrency holdings (yes, those are listed as disclosable “assets”).
Mr. Bemused Senior
@dmsilev: 🎶 “God bless the child that’s got his own.”
cain
WTF – did these families fly in from Israel? Why would they want to show up at all? I mean their main objective should be with the Israeli govt not traipsing to the U.S. I suppose they are the families living here? Because otherwise that’s just odd.
Gretchen
This guy has the self-satisfied smug grin of a guy who’s never been challenged in his life. I hope he gets a new experience soon.
schrodingers_cat
@dmsilev: Very fishy.
Gin & Tonic
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before, but this is another area of politics where Ukraine has more transparency and quicker reporting of data than the US.
Alison Rose
Got a pretty cool email from Newsom’s PAC just a bit ago. He’s often used his email lists to raise money for candidates around the country:
Now that’s some messaging for you.
Baud
@Alison Rose:
Nice.
dmsilev
@schrodingers_cat: Yeah. Either he and his wife are hilariously bad at managing money, he has some serious undisclosed liabilities that he’s funneling all income into, or he’s just flat-out lying about his income and assets. Take your pick.
Scout211
I pick all of them,
Katydmsilev.Baud
Maybe he’s spending all his money on watching porn on his other phone.
UncleEbeneezer
More good news from yesterday: Moms For Liberty And Anti-Trans Republicans Suffer Massive Election Defeat Nationwide
rikyrah
He makes $174K a year. The wife works too. They’ve been on the right-wing grift train before he got to Congress.
He lives in bumblephuck Louisiana, so his expenses should be low.
No bank account?
Yeah, something ain’t right.
schrodingers_cat
@rikyrah: He has a harem? His wife is the supplier with that conversion therapy group of hers. I am just speculating.
Baud
@schrodingers_cat:
It would be irresponsible not to.
Jay
Is the House Preacher vs. a Head of Lettuce still a betting line in Vegas?
Alison Rose
Good international news:
Obviously, there’s still a long way to go. But this is a positive step 🇺🇦🤝🇪🇺
Jinchi
At this point I just assume all the Republicans opposing aid to Ukraine are getting bribes from Russia.
Not really sure what motivates them to hold aid to Israel hostage at the same time they’re censuring any member who expresses concern for Palestinian civilians.
smith
Could it be he’s giving all his money to some bogus “church” (that he controls) that gives him an allowance, and pays no taxes?
Also, wouldn’t it be easy to see if he’s listed as the owner of any property through tax records? Or are those not public in LA?
owlbrick
Dollars to donuts it’s all in unmarked bills and gold bullion.
Cameron
Maybe it’s just me, but the more I read about SOTH the creepier he appears.
Alison Rose
@Cameron: He looks like the guy who, at the start of the horror movie, is a concerned neighbor, but by the end turns out to have a dozen bodies in his basement. I just get real “fava beans a a nice chianti” vibes from him.
Jinchi
@Baud: It’d be hilarious if we discovered he owned a burner phone just so his kid couldn’t monitor his browsing habits.
prostratedragon
@schrodingers_cat: How I wish one could simply dismiss this as a joke.
David 🌈 ☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch
before automatic deposit became a thing, I found I couldn’t cash a payroll check unless I had an account with the specific bank.
moreover, how do you pay for recurring bills (phone, wifi, electricity, insurance, water, garbage, etc.). Without a bank account, you can’t use a checkbook or electronic banking. are they really going to send cash and exact change in those flimsy envelopes.
Cameron
@Alison Rose: Exactly!
rikyrah
@Jinchi:
Absolutely. Nothing else makes sense. It’s not like these muthaphuckas have actual PRINCIPLES.
Jeffro
Folks he has all these accounts, assets, etc…he just isn’t reporting any of it.
It’s not like he’s paying his phone bill with Visa gift cards or chickens or whatever.
He just doesn’t feel that the rules apply to him.
dmsilev
So, I was reading through the manual of one of our pieces of instrumentation at work, and found this pearl of wisdom:
Gee, thanks, I had no idea.
Jinchi
@cain:
There are plenty of Israelis with American relatives. They didn’t necessarily hop ona plane post October 7.
dmsilev
@Jeffro: Wait, when did Verizon stop accepting payment in chickens?
My cell bill is due next week and, uh, this would useful information.
prostratedragon
Didjahear the one about the high-end brothel bust by DOJ? Clients said to include military and political figures.
Duke of Clay
If all he has is a non-interest bearing checking account, he is fiscally irresponsible and should not be allowed anywhere near the Federal budget.
Baud
@prostratedragon:
The GOP finally got the goods on Biden!
prostratedragon
@dmsilev: That’s one reason to childproof them.
Gin & Tonic
@David 🌈 ☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch: A long time ago I worked for a company where, through a programming error, an invoice for $0.11 to a large insurance company was generated (we were in a business where invoices to large insurance companies, usually for 5 or 6-figure sums, were customary.) An accounting manager there sent back the invoice with a dime and a penny taped to it, and a note saying basically “my system can’t generate a check for less than $25.00, but I want to make sure we’re paid.”
Can’t tell you how difficult it was to process that cash payment, which I know the guy covered out of his own pocket change just to fuck with us.
prostratedragon
@Baud: 😆😆😆
smith
Chuckle. Great day for it!
ETA: And this
Timill
And if he has installed spyware on his phone, he shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near a security clearance.
Tony Jay
If he were a Democrat the onus would be on him to prove, to the impossible to achieve satisfaction of his many, many Republican accusers, that he wasn’t hiding something. Anything would do, even an error in punctuation on a 30 year old application for a driving licence. The media narrative would be harsh and accusatory and wouldn’t stop bounding from goalpost to goalpost until he resigned.
But since he’s a Republican, ain’t it cute that he’s got this aura of mystery about him? Of course there’s a perfectly harmless, probably heartwarmingly laudable, reason for what appears to be, on the surface, a very opaque financial situation, but surely that’s no one else’s business, and only a partisan muckraker would claim otherwise.
And when it does come out that he’s got multiple secret accounts with dark money donors and illicit payments to sexytime professionals, the switch to “old news, nobody cares” by the Media will occur so quickly we’ll hear the breaking of the sound barrier on this side of the Atlantic.
Jay
@dmsilev:
2008, when customers passed off roosters as chickens.
dmsilev
@prostratedragon: True enough, but generally speaking children young enough to need those protective caps aren’t allowed to play unattended with scientific instruments that retail for roughly the cost of a house.
And it’s not the electrical socket that you have to worry about anyway. It’s the hardwired 3-phase 460V umpteen-kW power circuit for the main compressor. Stick a screwdriver into that circuit, and Bad Things will happen.
snoey
@Jeffro: I’m with Smith on this. He’s got a church that owns everything and gives him the use of it or some such. This is sovereign citizen level shit of course. Roy Cohn pulled something like this to try and make himself judgement proof.
smith
@snoey: As soon as some enterprising reporter finds out who owns the house he lives in, we’re off to the races.
Ken
@dmsilev: My denomination, the United Methodists, has a “Book of Discipline” which sets out the rules for running churches. Much like your “don’t stick flatware into live electrical sockets”, there are many, many rules that make me think “This is only in here because someone once did this and it went very badly.” Like the rule forbidding the church treasurer from being a relative of the pastor….
dmsilev
@Ken: A lot of financial and safety and so forth regulations have that sort of origin.
kindness
Johnson’s ‘Trust us.’ wasn’t meant for us. It was meant for his fellow Republicans. The day before the current CR expires, he’ll submit an extortion bill to the Senate. On queue when the Senators ignore it, make their own and send that back to the House, Republicans will try to blame the Senate (& Joe Biden of course) for the shut down. I’ll say at least 1/2 the MSM will fall for the ploy.
Tony Jay
@snoey:
He’s the Petit Pope of The Church Universal and Unaccountable? I could see that.
Odie Hugh Manatee
“Johnson told Americans to “trust us,”…”
I put “trust us” into my Wingnut translator and “Fuck You” is the translation.
piratedan
@schrodingers_cat: I guess we should see what we do know…
He serves an area that rarely has any political opposition
Not a huge media impact so he can fly under the radar
has “adopted/mentored” a young man ten years younger than himself and considers him family but is otherwise nowhere to be seen
he and spouse make pretty good cash for their area to be considered at a minimum upper middle class
has not done a single extraordinary thing while serving in the people’s house outside of being somehow in the circle of all things MAGA.
doesn’t have anything going on in the public sphere that would expose his finances to scrutiny.
If I was a screenwriter or a novelist my first thought would be sleeper agent… but for whom?
Bill Arnold
@snoey:
“Lying for Jesus” is for beginners; “Tax Fraud for Jesus” is next level up.
WaterGirl
@Jeffro:
yes
yes
NO!
WaterGirl
@dmsilev: I’ll take door #2 and door #3.
Tony Jay
@piratedan:
The Pillow Guy?
smith
Hmmm. The MN Supreme Court has refused to disqualify TFG based on the 14th amendment, but is willing to reconsider for the general election.
Ken
@dmsilev: Crypto reporters often note that. The phrase “speed running the history of the financial industry” is frequently invoked, as the crypto industry gradually (and expensively) learns the importance of regulations.
Bill Arnold
@kindness:
Journalists (and “Journalists”) can be made pre-aware of this entirely-obvious jamming tactic, if they are not already aware of it.
Also, it appears that Biden can threaten to call a special session. Attempts by the House GOP to game that would net them a lot of critical attention, IMO.
Ken
Go for the Left Behind demographic, and make him the antichrist.
catclub
I wonder how many other back bench GOP reps fill the form out the same way.
Ladyraxterinok
@snoey:
Cohn was Trump’s mentor,right?
snoey
@Ladyraxterinok: Right!
Gvg
@Maxim: don’t assume he is telling the truth about that rule.
BeautifulPlumage
Saw the Monty Python reference and have to point out that Mike Johnson has beautiful plumage along with his Warby-Parker glasses…
Ladyraxterinok
@Bill Arnold:
Johnson is a major follower of David Barton. (See rightwingwatch website for many posts about Barton.)
Barton’s book on Jefferson, claiming him as essentially a conservative Christian, got so many reviews by real historians that his publisher pulled the book
Chris Rodda, now with Micky Weinstein’s group, wrote her book Liars for Jesus mostly based on Barton’s false claims about the founding of the US
indycat32
@David 🌈 ☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch: money orders.
StringOnAStick
Come on people, he’s revealing nothing because fuck you sinners, that’s why. Make me.
HinTN
@Gin & Tonic: Long ago, my mother received a bill for $0.00. Thinking that was great, she did nothing. Repeated bills came for $0.00. Finally, a semi-threatening letter arrived asserting that she was in arrears for $0.00. She sent them a check for $0.00 and the matter was resolved. Early computers, I think.
Hoppie
@Ken: At least with tulips you were likely to get a pretty flower (but it was not free).
Josie (also)
@owlbrick: Hidden in a hole in the backyard.
redoubtagain
I vote “multiple violations of Title 18 of the United States Code (especially chapters 93, 95 and 96)”.
Mai Naem mobile
My money is Mike Johnson having some kind of non-profit/charity set up. Mike Johnson’s dad was a firefighter in Shreveport who was badly burned and recovered and set up a foundation. Mike is the eldest child and a lawyer so it wouldn’t be surprising if he ended up learning about non-profit set ups and doing the paperwork for it.
Here’s the father’s obituary.
legacy.com/us/obituaries/shreveporttimes/name/james-johnson-obituary?id=11898168
Johnson father ‘s also wrote a book. I’ve done a quick search for a copy but can’t find a copy. It was probably one of those self published books. It’s a pity because I have a feeling that book may give us a little insight into Johnson.
Ceci n est pas mon nym
@dmsilev: Actually I could have used that warning before a certain incident in my youth.
But being 3 years old, I wouldn’t have been able to read it anyway.
Bill Arnold
@Ladyraxterinok:
Thanks for the background; will poke at it.
Was riffing on Romans 13:7 (and 6) “Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.”
OlFroth
I suspect he’s laundering the money through his church. He donates his entire income to the church, making it all tax deductible, and has an arrangement where he gets cash when requested, or he submits his bills to the church, and the church pays them. Wouldn’t be surprised if he has credit cards in the name of his church as well.
The Kropenhagen Interpretation
That might not necessarily be the case. I could see a socialist not holding interest-bearing accounts or making investments or even holding a retirement account out of principle, but still paying bills on time and able to understand and plan a budget.
Granted, I don’t think that applies here.
Bill Arnold
@Ceci n est pas mon nym:
I’ve heard, second hand, of a plug in a physics lab improvised with three screwdrivers and ? (wires plus tape? alligator clips? do not recall that aspect.) (This was a university lab (Oxford))
evodevo
@OlFroth: THAT certainly sounds like the answer (the Righteous Gemstones method lol)…now if only some enterprising internet mavens would start investigating this…
Bill Arnold
@The Kropenhagen Interpretation:
Hmm, Mike Johnson could be a crypto-Muslim. Has anyone asked him? (He could just donate any interest payments to charity.)
artem1s
this is just gonna get weirder and weirder the longer it goes on. fundies spend so much time in their little self reinforcing bubbles they just don’t get how freakish they look to the real world.
Martin
Must be the account he uses to buy his pornography.
gene108
I’m going to give Mike Johnson the benefit of the doubt and assume he keeps all his money in one non-interest bearing bank account, and owns no appreciable assets outside of his primary residence.
What I’m wondering is if his wife’s Christian counseling business is a non-profit, because there might be 990’s* with some financial information about the business and her finances.
*Smaller non-profits do not need to file 990’s. I forget the income cut off.
sdhays
My guess is that Mikey has his salary deposited into his non-interest accruing account, then immediately has it converted to bags and bags of Susan B. Anthony (definitely not Sacajawea!) coins, to be stored in a vault in his basement, where he and his wife
have wild sex orgies with other members of Johnson’s “church”perform sacred private rituals glorifyingMamonGod.Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
gene108
@smith:
His Congressional salary would be taxed at source. Any income from a “church” would also be taxed, unless the “church” is shady as fuck and pays him under the table or claims all payments to him are reimbursed travel expenses.
karen marie
@Tony Jay: Speaking of opaque financial matters, the governor of Arkansas is still having trouble with her $19,000 lectern.
A bill of lading for its alleged delivery was finally produced, dated in early August, except that the measurements of the container that was delivered are completely wrong for the lectern shown to the press after the $19,000 payment to her friend’s event company was discovered.
The company listed on the bill of lading as having shipped the lectern doesn’t sell any that are remotely similar to the one shown to the press.
All kinds of laws broken but IOKIYAR.
Tony G
Apparently Jesus told Mike Johnson that he doesn’t have to report any financial accounts. It all makes perfect sense.
artem1s
@sdhays: and they have a giant Golden Calf that they had cast from all the Krugerrands they bought in the 1990’s. I’ll let you imagine what part it plays in their orgies.
karen marie
@smith: According to this FEC form FEC-1502529, his address is 5029 Willow Chase Drive, Benton, LA. Zillow tells me that house was sold in 2013 but doesn’t indicate a sale price. Oddly, it’s put on the market in 2014 and removed after three months, listed again – at a lower price – in 2017 and again removed, this time two months later.
Both listings were for over $400K.
BethanyAnne
And, if he has run unopposed, Johnson’s name hasn’t even been on the ballot. Per Louisiana rules, candidates running unopposed in the general just get the office, no voting needed.
Scout211
@karen marie: Look at the Redfin listing.
If he still calls this his residence, something is strange.
If you have the correct address, it lists a Redfin estimate of $488,833 and says it sold on 12/28/2020 for $1,010,000 as part of a multiple property deal and then was sold again on 12/30/2920 for $64,000.
Geminid
@BethanyAnne: I wonder if Mike Johnson will run unopposed next hear. If a Democrat chooses to run against Johnson I think they’ll raise a few bucks in campaign donations.
karen marie
@karen marie: Rehold tells me 5029 Willow Chase Drive is owned by JAJ Properties, LLC.
Is this the Thomas Brice listed as the agent of the LLC? I think it is. What’s the connection between Johnson and Brice other than Brice being Johnson’s landlord?
Where did Johnson live before this address?
Someone who gets paid to do this should get on it.
karen marie
@Scout211: That’s interesting. I think the lot was originally two acres but $64K still seems really low for that house.
See my later post regarding who owns/owned the address – Thomas P. Brice Jr. through an LLC.
Geminid
@karen marie: Mike Johnson’s finances smell a lot like Clarence Thomas’s.
sab
@gene108: Gross receipts greater than $200,000 or total assets greater than $500,000.1
StringOnAStick
@Geminid: Bingo, but with extra Jesus sauce.
Mai Naem mobile
@karen marie: if it was paid for in cash(vs a loan) they don’t report the price. The 2013 sale thing may just be marketing. If you list a house too high and it ends up sitting doing nothing, realtors will take it off the market for a while and then relist it for a lower price. It then shows up as a new listing without having the stink of being a long time unsold ‘there.must be something wrong with it’ house
karen marie
@Mai Naem mobile: Go look at the link. I don’t think that’s what’s going on. It’s just weird. Very weird. The weirdness is likely related to shenanigans within the JAJ Properties LLC.
The bottom line is, it does not appear to be owned by Johnson or his wife. If that’s accurate, that leaves the questions how much do they pay in rent, to whom do they pay rent, and by what means do they pay rent given they have no checking account.
The sale price not being listed because it was cash – in what jurisdiction? I spent a while looking at other listings in and around that area – all the way over to Texas – and none that I saw listed sale prices, only asking prices.
Mai Naem mobile
@karen marie: if you buy real estate with cash(not loan) in Arizona the price is not listed publicly. I am not saying it’s not weird but that’s not surprising. And the multi-properry sale but was happening a lot during the crash because banks were packaging multiple properties since they had so many foreclosures. I found this interesting – Brice appears to live at 1440 Deen Point Rd Benton and it was put up for sale 9 days ago and it’s a pending sale on redfin. I’m sure it’s just a coincidence, right?? Sounds like Brice is a regulatory guy at some SE electric utility who may find friendship with Mikey useful.
Tony Jay
@karen marie:
You know the way Batman hides the funds for his secret Batmobiles inside the batarang budget?
It’s like that in Arkansas, except she buys lecterns. Can’t get enough of that sweet, sweet lectern stuff.
Paul in KY
@dmsilev: I think his ‘rationale’ is that a Godly man does not have to provide that info to the ‘deep state’ ™.
Paul in KY
@smith: Could be that.