- A government ethics bureau rejected Kanye West’s financial disclosure during his 2020 presidential run.
- West did not disclose his wife Kim Kardashian West’s income on the form, which is unusual.
- An ethics watchdog group says the lack of disclosure is likely the reason the form was not accepted.
- Check out more stories on the Insider company page.
The federal Office of Government Ethics is refusing to approve rapper Kanye West’s financial disclosure forms from his failed 2020 presidential campaign, according to a document obtained by the Washington Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics watchdog group.
Jordan Libowitz, communications director at CREW, wrote in a blog post on Monday that the agency’s highly unusual move is likely due to West not fully disclosing the income and assets of his wife Kim Kardashian West, as Insider’s Dave Levinthal also stated in July 2020.
Because there is no law requiring presidential candidates to release their tax returns, “the federal disclosure is the only mandatory look at a presidential candidate or the president’s finances,” Libowitz told Insider.
“From a transparency perspective, it is very important to know where money is going to officials or candidates and to know that it is correct and complete,” he said.
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Walt Shaub, the former OGE director under the Obama and Trump administrations, told Insider in July that candidates are required to report income ranges for their husbands in almost all circumstances, which could explain that the agency has not certified the disclosure.
On the form, West claimed he was exempt from reporting Kardashian West’s income by citing a law stating that federal candidates can go without disclosing their spouse’s sources of income if they have no knowledge of the income stream, this one is not tied to their own economic activities, and they do not expect to derive any financial benefit from it.
It’s not just that he didn’t report it, it’s that he used an exemption, and a fairly rare one, to report. It said, among other things, that he did not know what her assets were or where her income came from. And that seems a bit hard to believe, ” Libowitz told Insider.
Kardashian West, whose sources of income include her beauty and fashion ventures KKW Beauty and Skims, her participation in the reality show Keeping up with the Kardashians, and brand announcements, has a net worth of $ 1 billion through Forbes. West’s net worth is estimated at $ 1.8 billion by the outlet.
“It would be different if he left it blank, but it is questionable to claim an exemption for which he did not qualify,” Libowitz said.
The couple got married in 2012 and are now getting divorced. CREW said West made the personal financial disclosure four months before Kardashian West filed for divorce.
Libowitz also noted that West had not disclosed information and assets for three trusts of which he listed himself as trustee on the form.
While the discrepancies may not lead to sanctions for West and are unlikely to result in prosecution, “it is a” fairly important issue, especially when there are questions about the money involved in his campaign, “Libowitz said.
West’s quixotic presidential campaign, which was almost entirely self-financed, struggled to get to the polls in many states, and numerous ballot box requests were rejected due to large numbers of invalid or fraudulent signatures.
The campaign also contacted the Federal Election Commission multiple times for filing disclosure reports with anomalies and red flags that, according to a Daily Beast report, contained “ multiple donations from minors, multiple possible contributions from foreigners, and various false names and addresses. that track to dropshipping warehouses on both coasts. ”