FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, June 21, 2012

CONTACT: Matt Ross (505) 263-4879

Heather Wilson Thinks Ethics Rules Don’t Apply to Her

(ALBUQUERQUE 6/21/12) She spent a decade in Congress, but U.S. Senate candidate Heather Wilson still thinks she’s above the rules of the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Ethics.  As writer Trip Jennings of the Santa Fe New Mexicanreports, Wilson could be fined for failure to disclose financial records on her personal residences for “more than a month after the May 15 deadline.” New Mexicans expect more from all candidates for public office, especially from someone running for the U.S. Senate.

Wilson provided a copy of the disclosure, but only after receiving a request for it from a reporter, which details financial information for eight properties in New Mexico and Washington, D.C. Her disclosure is over five weeks late, and is still not on file at the Senate Office of Public Records.

“Paying attention to detail and following the basic rules of campaign finance is fundamental to running for public office,” said Scott Forrester, Executive Director of the Democratic Party of New Mexico. “Then again, Heather Wilson has never been overly concerned about playing by the rules.”

This isn’t the first time Heather Wilson’s ethics have been subject to scrutiny. Congresswoman Wilson is closely associated with ethically-challenged Washington insiders like George W. Bush strategist Karl Rove. And Wilson was named one of the most corrupt politicians in Washington by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington for her questionable involvement in the firing of U.S. Attorney David Iglesias.

“Ethics rules are in place for a reason,” continued Forrester. “And voters will hold Wilson accountable.”

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Wilson Could be Penalized for Not Filing Financial Disclosure. The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that the “Senate Office of Public Records did not have the form in its system as of Wednesday morning” but a copy provided to reporters showed Wilson earned income on seven properties in New Mexico and a condo in Washington DC. [Santa Fe New Mexican, 6/20/2012]

2007: Wilson Named One Of The Most Corrupt Members Of Congress. CREW (Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington) named Wilson to its annual list of the most corrupt members of Congress. They put her on the list because of her involvement in the US Attorney Scandal. [CREW Release, 9/18/07]

Wilson Improperly Pressured US Attorney For Political Gain.  According to former New Mexico US Attorney David Iglesias, Wilson contacted him on October 16, 2006, to pressure him to take action on a political corruption case, which she was using as political fodder against her opponent Patricia Madrid.  Iglesias maintains that he received a second politically motivated phone call from Domenici approximately 10 days later.  Wilson refutes this interpretation of the events, however.  She claims that the calls were merely to check on the status of the investigation.  [AP, 4/19/07]