According to The Daily Caller John Podesta may have violated Federal Law by not disclosing his receipt of 75,000 shares of stock from a Kremlin-financed company.
Now him not disclosing these financial transactions is raising legal questions.
The Schedule B section of the federal government’s form 278 which — requires financial disclosures for government officials — required Podesta to “report any purchase, sale or exchange by you, your spouse, or dependent children…of any property, stocks, bonds, commodity futures and other securities when the amount of the transaction exceeded $1,000.â€
Nobody is attempting to defend Podesta. It is a clear violation of federal law if it is proved to be 100% true.
The federal penalty for this is listed out in Title 5:
Title 5 of the U.S. Code stipulates the U.S. Attorney General can file a civil action “against any individual who knowingly and willfully falsifies or who knowingly and willfully fails to file or report any information that such individual is required to report.†The federal penalty can be up to $50,000 per count.
Now the OGE(Office of Government Ethics) who would oversee something like this has gone absolutely silent on the matter. The claim they have no authority to rule on any of this and are attempting to sweep this under the rug. This is clear hypocrisy due to the fact OGE Director Walter Shaub attacked Trump on his plan to deal with his business as President.
Considering the clout Podesta has in the Democratic Party this is an issue that must be looked into. Not only was he Hilary Clintons campaign chairman but he also held the title “Counselor to the President” Â from January 1, 2014- February 13, 2015 during the Obama administration.
