Tough-on-crime GOP presidential candidate pleads ignorance after violating financial disclosure law

Larry Elder, the tough-on-crime conservative talk radio host and longshot Republican candidate for president, blew past a federal deadline for filing a personal financial disclosure report, Raw Story has learned.

The violation could result in a fine. But it’s unlikely Elder will pay much — if anything — because of notoriously weak enforcement of federal laws governing lawmakers’ mandatory personal financial disclosures.

In a letter to the Federal Election Commission dated July 7, Elder for President 24 treasurer David Satterfield acknowledged that Elder, who entered the race in April, should have filed the personal financial disclosure report by May 20. By the campaign’s own math, Elder is nearly two months late.

Elder’s letter pleads for leniency based on two novel arguments.

First, Elder didn’t know about the federal deadline, Satterfield said, or that he had the legal right to request two filing extensions.

“Had Mr. Elder been aware of this obligation and the ability to request extensions, the extensions would have been filed timely,” Satterfield said.

Therefore, Satterfield argued, the FEC should grant Elder the first of two 45-day extensions retroactively, then grant him a second extension that would ultimately give the candidate until Aug. 18 to compile his financial information.

The FEC obliged, granting the Elder campaign’s request.

Lisa J. Stevenson, FEC acting general counsel, wrote in a letter emailed to Satterfield on Monday that “based on good cause set forth in your letter,” the FEC will give Elder until Aug. 18 to file.

“The campaign applied for and was granted two 45-day extensions,” Elder campaign spokesperson Matt Ciepielowski confirmed to Raw Story.

Under federal law, presidential candidates must file signed, certified personal financial disclosure reports — detailing certain assets, income, debts and professional agreements for themselves and their spouses — within 30 days of becoming a candidate or by May 15 of a given calendar year, whichever comes later.

RELATED ARTICLE: Mike Pence received more than $500K from an offshoot of controversial Unification Church

Elder’s late personal financial disclosures underscore the weak enforcement of federal candidate financial disclosure law, which is intended to defend against potential conflicts of interest and enhance transparency for the benefit of American voters.

While Elder could still face a $200 late-filing fine, particularly if federal regulators received a complaint about the candidate’s untimely disclosure, the financial pain would be minimal, and he’s unlikely to face any additional legal fallout.

During his presidential run, Elder has blasted “soft-on-crime” district attorneys and floated a crime-fighting proposal dubbed “Enforce the Law”.

Several other Republican presidential candidates, including Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis, asked for and received personal financial disclosure extensions around the May 15 deadline. Earlier this year, Trump himself was about a month late submitting an earlier financial disclosure — a footnote on the litany of legal troubles facing the former president, who’s leading all 2024 GOP presidential polls.

And although Elder says he was unaware of his personal financial disclosure requirements, the issue has been routinely making news for years. Hundreds of executive branch officials, dozens of members of Congress and Supreme Court justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito have recently found themselves in varying degrees of trouble for personal financial disclosure failures of their own.

This is not the first time Elder has run into issues with disclosure of his personal finances related to a political campaign.

In September 2021, Elder failed to disclose that he held a stake in a company that bears his name as part of a statement of economic interests he was required to file with the state of California during his candidacy to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom during a failed recall campaign, according to the Los Angeles Times. At the time, a spokesperson responded by suggesting the campaign had made an oversight and that the filings would be quickly amended.

The newspaper also reported that Elder was initially excluded from the recall ballot because he failed to disclose five years of tax returns, but sued because he argued that the provision did not apply to recall elections. A judge sided with Elder, and waived the requirement for all candidates.