Ethics Enforcement

Filing and Review of the Attorney General's Financial Disclosure Report Gao ID: GGD-87-108 August 4, 1987

In response to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Attorney General's 1985 public financial disclosure report to determine whether: (1) it satisfied the requirements of the Ethics in Government Act; and (2) the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) properly reviewed the report.

GAO found that the Attorney General's report did not disclose: (1) the assets in his investment-firm partnership, as the act required; (2) any partnership sale, purchase, or exchange of any stock, bond, or other of security, or any real property interest exceeding $1,000; and (3) the identity of the investment firm by its legal name. GAO also found that: (1) neither DOJ nor OGE obtained the required information about the partnership; (2) DOJ excused the Attorney General from the requirement to disclose his underlying assets on the basis of his characterization of the partnership as blind, even though it did not meet the act's requirements for a statutorily exempt trust; (3) OGE did not question the partnership until the media raised the issue; and (4) as of July 29, 1987, DOJ and OGE were still reviewing the report.



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