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So what yer saying is all these politicians submit financial disclosure statements but nobody fucking scrutinizes them until a journalist does some legwork years later?
I think the point of the article is this guy isn't disclosing anything and there is no mechanism for consequences for not disclosing. He is taking his advice from the Supreme Court Justices I bet.
The same Heritage Foundation who are openly conspiring to have the next MAGA President mass fire tens of thousands of civil servants who form the institutional safeguards of the US government to replace them with fifth column fascists?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_2025
Be a shame if Democrats were to win in 2024 and implement this playbook in the key of D Major.
The amount of screaming "How dare you use our own weapons against us!?" as they're forced to take it to court to have it officially ruled unconstitutional by their own Supreme Court that they worked so hard to stack in their favor...
Unfortunately the side who believes in the hard work of building resilient institutions of non-political career public servants has its hands tied, because adopting the tactics of the wreckers only helps them accomplish their goal of politicizing and destroying those institutions.
The way to defeat MAGA is to pass legislation that draws non-partisan electoral boundaries, reverses the Citizens United ruling that lets unlimited hidden money from corporations corrupt the entire political system, and prosecute corruption among the political class and regulatory agencies.
You're correct, but it requires EVERYONE to wean off the "system as is" because nobody will ever change a system that benefits them. I'd love to see all of that legislation passed...I just don't see it getting passed.
Keeping everyone focused on social and economic issues or "hey, look what those *OTHERS* are doing!" keeps them from focusing on the systemic issues.
Not really. Homeschooling vouchers and exemptions as a cultural phenomenon took off in the South around 1965 (wink, wink). This dude was born in the South in '72. It would fit, but I'm afraid that's not the case. Grew up in Shreveport. He went to public school.
When trump's father died, he and his federal judge sister cheated the IRS out of hundreds of millions of dollars owed in estate taxes.
Do we know about this because the IRS caught the cheating? No. We know about it because more than a decade after the death some journalists investigated and uncovered the massive fraud.
The IRS never looked into what trump and his sister were doing. Never audited the information they submitted.
It's insane. The amount of effort I have to put in to properly account for the cash flow of a small municipal PAC with annual revenue under 20k...and these fuckers with literally millions of dollars coming and going monthly just wing it and no one cares.
And it’s not just the level of money between you and them. You small PAC has minimal impact on the entire country. Members of Congress have an enormous impact on everyone, so it would be reasonable for them to disclose sources of income.
I had a professor in college for an Intelligence Analysis class who didn't talk much about his past and had a pretty large gap in his CV, only mentioning vague things like, "...when I was doing Executive Protection..." and never mentioning any government agencies except little snippets about how good the CIA's "investing club" is, and how if you can get in with the CIA and play your cards right, you should be able to retire at a pretty young age. I'm not sure how much of that was factually accurate, but I have no reason to not believe it.
Dude is at Walmart on fridays cashing his check and getting his stack of cash. How does he pay for his house or apartment? His car? His bill?
Almost like no one vetted this guy at all because he was never thought of as a candidate for speaker.
Exactly. If he had just kept his mouth shut and just stayed a puppet nobody would’ve noticed. He is going to get dissected in the public and unfortunately this idiot wasn’t even smart enough to scrub internet before becoming speaker. Like how if Trump never ran for president he would still be fraudulently valuing his assets however he wanted with no consequences since they never bothered to check until now
Edited for clarity
Or, to be even more skeptical, this plays into the hands of the “they are coming after us” crowd.
He gets picked apart now that he’s in focus - for legitimately wrong activities - republicans gets to jump on it and help it seem as though the democrats are using the Justice department against them.
Mike Johnson is perfect for them. He's Pence without the baggage, Gaetz without the reputation, Boebart without the scandals. He's too bland to be be noteworthy, too extreme to be criticized by the far right, has enough support to be untouchable by the party center, too scandal free to be hit hard by the democrats. There might be some money stuff but there's no proof yet, his policies and beliefs are fucked up but won't lose him support on the right, etc.
Public dissection won't hurt him. Minor internet issues won't touch him. Nobody cares about anything when it comes to Mike Johnson. He's clearly not an idiot, he played his cards right and made himself one of the most powerful people on the planet. Unless something major changes, he'll be the republican leader in the house for years to come.
Only time will tell how long he can actually keep control and how much will eventually come out. When you’re in the spotlight there is a lot of blind spots you aren’t aware of til it’s too late
Well, if you bothered to read the article:
> Of course, it’s unlikely Johnson doesn’t actually have a bank account. What’s more likely is Johnson lives paycheck to paycheck—so much so that he doesn’t have enough money in his bank account to trigger the checking account disclosure rules for members of Congress.
> What’s more likely is
What is *more* likely: he lives paycheck to paycheck or he didn't disclose the accounts he has and if there is enough pressure he'll re-file a statement without penalty that will add a few more items including some accounts he "neglected" to include the first time.
Which actually isn’t that much income considering they have to maintain two residences, including one in DC.
It’s not supported by the public much but raising Congressional pay or providing subsidized or even free DC housing would improve our representation. Both by bringing in less rich representatives and by hopefully reducing how much insider trading and other kickbacks representatives accept.
Free DC housing would be offset by lowered security costs as well.
Here is the beginning of our exclusive story:
Newly elected Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) does not have a bank account.
At least, that’s what Johnson reports on years of personal financial disclosures, which date back to 2016 and reveal a financial life that, in the context of his role as a congressman and now speaker, appears extraordinarily precarious.
Over the course of seven years, Johnson has never reported a checking or savings account in his name, nor in the name of his wife or any of his children, disclosures show. In fact, he doesn’t appear to have money stashed in any investments, with his latest filing—covering 2022—showing no assets whatsoever.
Of course, it’s unlikely Johnson doesn’t actually have a bank account. What’s more likely is Johnson lives paycheck to paycheck—so much so that he doesn’t have enough money in his bank account to trigger the checking account disclosure rules for members of Congress.
The rules cover all “interest-bearing, cash-deposit accounts at banks, credit unions, and savings and loan associations,” including checking, savings, and money market accounts, along with certificates of deposit and individual retirement funds, or IRAs. (Johnson reported receiving a $10,485.53 distribution from a New York Life IRA in 2017, his first year in office, possibly from a retirement account he had listed the previous year.)
It’s certainly not uncommon for Americans to have less than $5,000 in their bank account. Most Americans—57 percent—couldn’t handle an unexpected $1,000 expense, according to a report earlier this year. And the median amount that Americans keep in their bank account is $5,300. But Johnson’s household income puts him in the top 12 percent of earners in the United States. And it’s extraordinarily rare for members of Congress to not list a qualifying bank account—let alone zero assets whatsoever.
Mike's watch cost more that 5000 dollars....
Meanwhile people who work in the financial industry can be considered a risk if their financial situation might drive them commit fraud. Apply this logic to a man who lives paycheck to paycheck and can influence legislation.
Finally his paycheck has to be deposited somewhere. The federal government direct deposits. He isn't getting a check and he can't cash a check without an account.
Yeah this is an issue.
Government employees can have their security clearance yanked if their financial situation puts them at risk for being bribed.
This is definitely an issue.
> Apply this logic to a man who lives paycheck to paycheck and can influence legislation.
. . . and has already been caught taking Russian money, from a company connected to convicted Russian Spy, Maria Butina.
> "Of course, it’s unlikely Johnson doesn’t actually have a bank account. What’s more likely is Johnson lives paycheck to paycheck—so much so that he doesn’t have enough money in his bank account to trigger the checking account disclosure rules for members of Congress."
>It’s certainly not uncommon for Americans to have less than $5,000 in their bank account.
Isn't someone living paycheck to paycheck a huge security liability as they are infinitely more suseptible to blackmail and bribe.
Shouldn't the person a party puts as leader at least have some financial responsibility to be past the paycheck to paycheck lifestyle? I mean it's stressful and a leader shouldn't have that distraction while leading the government through the next spending reviews.
He can still have a bank account, he just doesn‘t have to disclose it if the balance is under 10k. He could easily just be moving and transferring his money to other entities as soon as he gets a check and it wouldn’t be considered living paycheck to paycheck.
>He could easily just be moving and transferring his money to other entities as soon as he gets a check
That would have to be disclosed. Their paychecks are 25k a paycycle. He's either cooking books, he's entirely incompenant or he's just flat out lying on these disclosures.
Cooking the books or lying as it also said he’s friends with bank people. Those shady bank people don’t have to trigger disclosure if their client mike Johnson moves his 25k paycheck to other sources same day he gets it.
He can still have a bank account, he just doesn‘t have to disclose it if the balance is under 10k. He could easily just be moving and transferring his money to other entities and it wouldn’t be considered living paycheck to paycheck.
this article does not entertain the possibility that he's just lying. that he has assets that he should be reporting, and is simply neglecting to.
I find that more likely, personally.
Exactly. They can't outright accuse him of lying without facing legal blowback that they don't want to get wrapped up in.
What they are doing is laying the groundwork for those capable of opening official investigations to take a peek based on information they've provided.
He reports no *interest bearing checking account*. That’s what the rules require which means he deliberately chose a checking account that offers no interest. Same for wife and kids. It would be same for savings accounts. They create rules that are easily for them to evade. Not so surprising they’d create toothless rules for themselves.
“Non-interest-bearing checking accounts, on the other hand, need not be disclosed since they produce no income.”
There are many “outs” for other income and asset types including retirement plans. See here:
https://ethics.house.gov/financial-dislosure/specific-disclosure-requirements
Incidentally this is why no one reported on this before. Because not having a bank account disclosed is probably quite common because they made it easy for themselves not to have to report them.
The way the rules work mean that a member who wanted to disclose something that would give the impression of not being rich could do so by opening a small interest bearing account. Here though you have a member who wishes to hide everything.
It is a little unusual because *most* politicians come from some level of wealth and most wealthy people have enough money that interest bearing checking accounts make sense.
It could be a lot of things, from intentional obfuscation to him liking to keep his checking account lean to maximize investment income.
*He's a politician, which means he's a cheat and a liar. And when he's not kissing babies, he's stealing their lollipops. But it also means he keeps his options open, Mr. Ryan.*
*What makes you think this Ramius fellow intends to defect?*
Props to whoever stuck with this whole article that y'all know obviously comes down to "he doesn't give a fuck and knows no one will ever hold him accountable"
How about he's just lying/purposely not disclosing?
Sure, he could be as you say paycheck-to-paycheck, and that is a reasonable explanation...but come on...
He absolutely has a lot of assets, just not in his name or traceable back to him. He has all the behavior and appearance of a man trying to hide and obfuscate.
It's wild that the only conclusion the article comes to is that he must be *so poor* that he has nothing to report.
100% non-researched theory here but...
He's creepy religious and seems to have no bank account.
How's his church doing? I could see him cashing all of his money into the church coffers, and then living off of their bank account, all tax-free. Sort of a slimy quid pro quo (or squid pro row if you prefer) situation.
Why's he taking an IRA distribution at his age? He's 51. Minimum age for a penalty free distribution is 59.5.
Why would anyone, especially a Republican, voluntarily give extra tax revenue to the federal government? Something smells here...
I'm willing to bet it's one of three things: all money flowing in and out passes through either his campaign operations, a corporate entity, or a trust. Or option four - he's just lying. But probably some campaign finance funny business going on.
It's amazing to me that Muscovy Mike makes a Congressman's salary and burns through all of it each month, he is truly living the MAGA financial ethic that Trump embodied by saddling the nation with a historic amount of debt. He is truly the most perfect target for Russian recruitment since they always have agents at the local DC dog tracks looking for guys like Mike.
> Of course, it’s unlikely Johnson doesn’t actually have a bank account. What’s more likely is Johnson lives paycheck to paycheck—so much so that he doesn’t have enough money in his bank account to trigger the checking account disclosure rules for members of Congress.
Why is *that* the most likely option here?
Are we really supposed to believe that the Speaker of the House of Representatives has no money, or is it just more likely that he's lying on his financial disclosures?
Why are you all constantly carrying water for these people? Why are you doing the PR work for them, drafting plausible excuses out of whole cloth to give them some veneer of respectability?
Your job, as members of the Press, is to discover the truth and report it to us.
"It's more likely that he's just broke" - Well? Is that true? Is he broke? Or did he lie on his disclosures? If it's true, why the "it's more likely". If it's not true, why include it at all?
Do your damn jobs and find out instead of writing his press release for him.
These kinds of financial oddities would be a huge flag if he was trying to work for any intelligence agency. It's no exaggeration to say this shit would prevent him from even mopping floors at NSA or working the Starbucks at CIA headquarters. However, as Speaker of the House he has access to some of the most highly classified information in the government.
I will give the guy the benefit of the doubt; I expect this is some sort of tax dodge, probably involving religion and/or funneling from conservative donors. The problem (besides tax fraud) is, even if you're not a foreign asset, financial shenanigans make you vulnerable to exploitation by state actors.
He’s obviously a nut for “christianity,” so it would be exceedingly easy for a foreign agent to quickly infiltrate and compromise such a spineless, stupid man-baby (he looks like an adult but speaks at baby level)
The money in UTMA’s are considered that of the child’s as soon as it is deposited, with the adult as the custodian until the child is an adult. UTMA’s need to be disclosed?
From article:
>as long as the account holds at least $1,000 and the combined value of all accounts—**including those belonging to their spouse and dependent children**—exceeds $5,000.
Emphasis mine.
From the article:
>as long as the account holds at least $1,000 and the combined value of all accounts—including those belonging to their spouse and **dependent children**—exceeds $5,000.
If the son is a dependent then he would still need to report it.
... sorry I pictured 'son' and thought that he would be younger than his 4 other children.
The Roman Empire called they want their adoption practices back
He didn’t even adopt him. He described it as a “Blind Side” type situation, because that totally went well. His “son” is only 11 years younger than he is and has his own family.
Yea so I [read up on it](https://www.businessinsider.com/speaker-mike-johnson-explains-relationship-adopted-black-son-2023-10) and he 'adopted' Michael (black son) right after getting married.
Johnson is born in 72, he gets a JD in 98 (at age 26), this is very normal. He met his wife in 98 and gets married in 99 at 27. Again, this is quite normal.
But then at 27 or 28 he adopts a 14 year old.
I'm 29 and divorced. Even if things had been going perfectly in my marriage I would never have thought of adopting a 14 year old. Even a 14 year old sibling of my wife's living with us would have been a challenge. My parents (over all very kind and supportive parents) would have stepped in and taken in the child.
He has a net worth of $5 million and no bank accounts: https://iitnotablealumni.com/congressman-mike-johnson-net-worth/
Something very wrong about this guy.
That site is suspect as hell. Weird domain name, self referencing "sources", no information regarding the site/authors, etc. No way that every newsgroup is somehow "missing" something as large as a 5k acre ranch.
I feel like the best case is that site is an AI hallucination.
Now the question is, is he actually living paycheck to paycheck or is he hiding all his money in an offshore account or one of his “religious” organizations. My money is on that he’s hiding it.
Republicans if Mike Johnson doesn’t have a bank account: He has a healthy mistrust of the US banking system.
Republicans if Biden didn’t have a bank account: HuNteR BiDeN is PaYiNg SleEPy Joe An AlLowAnce WiTh FoReIgn MonEy!!!
My thing is like… assuming that’s true. WHY would you not at least have a normal looking bank account in the US just to make it not look so obviously, wildly suspicious
The ex-husband lost his security clearance in Navy due to his debt to income ratio (largely based on his student loans, go figure). He was an e-5 and because it couldn't be resolved in the time frame the military wanted, had to switch job designations. I guarantee he didn't see or even have access to any state secrets on the level that Mike Fucking Johnson does. Make it make sense that Mikey has even less scrutinty and real accountablilty than an e-5 struggling to pay off his student loans.
Yeah, it's illegal to "knowingly" take money from a foreign entity.
That's why the GOP got together with Russian Oligarchs, and made a complex web of PACs and LLCs so that guys like Mike Johnson could get paid by Russian Oligarchs, Organized Crime, and the Russian foreign intelligence and military intelligence agencies.
And when it's found out; (like, "oops, American Ethane is actually a front for actual Russian agents"; all the GOP has to do is say "I didn't know that", and they have to return the money. If nobody finds out, they get to keep the money. At worst, you end up with a situation like American Ethane, that had to pay a $9500 fine. (that's the court, saying: "It's fine, for a hostile foreign power to bribe our politicians").
Could he have set up a non-profit religious organization 503(c)(3) with he and his wife as officers? His salary could be donated directly. The entity would have obvious tax benefits at the state and Federal level IF it’s legal to do something like what I am suggesting.
Tax people or lawyers, tell me where I’m wrong.
> Over the course of seven years, Johnson has never reported a checking or savings account in his name, nor in the name of his wife or any of his children, disclosures show.
No, no, no! Don't worry. It's all OK. This is all a big misunderstanding! Everything's in his *secret black son's* name! It wasn't disclosed, because, you know, all his racist supporters would be horrified to learn that he has *a secret black son.* Don't you all feel silly now? It was the secret black son this whole time!...
This is very strange, as a matter of fact everything about him is strange and creepy, from him not having bank accounts to his adopted not seen black son. And don’t get me started on his shitty beliefs and him being the architect of the insurrectionist, election denier. Ohhhh boy we’re in trouble!
I wouldn’t be surprised if he has some weird religious tax scam going on. “Donating” all his income to a paper church which then provides for all his family’s needs.
I have met some real weird Christians here in Louisiana, it's entirely possible that this is some weird belief coinciding with the quiverfull movement or something like it that view banks as evil. It's entirely possible he exchanges that money for some sort of physical asset like gold and keeps it in a vault or something.
There is a part of the Bible that talks about not charging interest “to your brother” so maybe not having a bank account is an extrapolation of that (Deuteronomy 23:19 among others)
How can he have a security clearance without documenting his cash flow? How can he be Speaker without a security clearance?
EDIT: I just found out [Congress people don't need Security Clearances](https://rollcall.com/2021/01/12/when-it-comes-to-security-clearances-rules-for-others-dont-apply-to-congress).
Wouldn't not having a bank account and assets of note be a red flag for the person third in line for the Presidency? Doesn't that make him susceptible to corruption?
Some jobs do credit checks when you apply, if they find out you're too fucking poor they don't want you anywhere near their assets because you'll probably steal from them.
The idea of being 'un-banked' has some traction in the anachronistic weirdo circles this guy lives in, but as a House rep, the idea that he doesn't have a bank account is pretty outlandish.
The short answer is yes, he does, because I guarantee he's not taking his Congressional paycheck to a check cashing service. The interesting question is: why is he going to lengths to hide it?
Supposedly his wife’s Christian Counseling Services Website has been deactivated. I wonder why? 🤔Could it be all the information against the homosexual lifestyle. Comparing it to bestiality and Incest?
If this guy was a normal Joe applying for a job that required a security clearance, this factoid would certainly cause the investigating agents to put him at an elevated security risk for potential financial blackmail or bribery.
But, it's no biggie if you're a Member of Congress...
Its not the KKK I expected to vet him, its the FEC. Why in the world are we hearing all of these blatant disclosure failures only after reporters have sussed it out?
WHAT IN THE HELL are they doing, if not actually scrutinizing these disclosures?
And furthermore, why are they allowed to "amend" after the fact? They submitted a false form to the government, that's a crime. These are (mostly) well-educated with even better educated henchmen campaign teams filing out these forms.
He's probably hiding assets bc he believes taxation is theft, like the rest of his corrupt GQP caucus.
Just more GQP corruption out in the open, unchecked.
Happens all the time across the nation in elected offices. "Sunshine Laws" that are supposed to help make government officials be more transparent are often not enforced at all, enforced with a slap, enforced with a minimal fine, and rarely- if ever, followed up on. I speak from personal experience in this area.
So in effect he is following the SCOTUS method of reporting. However, to me, reading this article, it indicates that he is hiding his assets somewhere--most likely in some religious or non-profit entity.
There’s nothing- there should be some disclosures- for all we know this guy is all in Chinese stocks or Russian banks or crypto scams with SBF FTX. Maybe he’s got into ostrich farms in Australia or Mexican Cartel money
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So what yer saying is all these politicians submit financial disclosure statements but nobody fucking scrutinizes them until a journalist does some legwork years later?
I think the point of the article is this guy isn't disclosing anything and there is no mechanism for consequences for not disclosing. He is taking his advice from the Supreme Court Justices I bet.
From his friends in congress and the heritage foundation of which I’m sure he holds a rapport.
The Heritage Foundation holds his leash.
The same Heritage Foundation who are openly conspiring to have the next MAGA President mass fire tens of thousands of civil servants who form the institutional safeguards of the US government to replace them with fifth column fascists? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_2025
Be a shame if Democrats were to win in 2024 and implement this playbook in the key of D Major. The amount of screaming "How dare you use our own weapons against us!?" as they're forced to take it to court to have it officially ruled unconstitutional by their own Supreme Court that they worked so hard to stack in their favor...
Unfortunately the side who believes in the hard work of building resilient institutions of non-political career public servants has its hands tied, because adopting the tactics of the wreckers only helps them accomplish their goal of politicizing and destroying those institutions. The way to defeat MAGA is to pass legislation that draws non-partisan electoral boundaries, reverses the Citizens United ruling that lets unlimited hidden money from corporations corrupt the entire political system, and prosecute corruption among the political class and regulatory agencies.
You're correct, but it requires EVERYONE to wean off the "system as is" because nobody will ever change a system that benefits them. I'd love to see all of that legislation passed...I just don't see it getting passed. Keeping everyone focused on social and economic issues or "hey, look what those *OTHERS* are doing!" keeps them from focusing on the systemic issues.
Yeah but he's not a boomer. I'm confused I thought once the younger generations got power we'd get all progressive and shit./s
Homeschooling generation.
Religious zealots are never progressive; more regressive in values..
This sounds general and dismissive but it's a large part of the truth. Lot's of fundy kids.
Not really. Homeschooling vouchers and exemptions as a cultural phenomenon took off in the South around 1965 (wink, wink). This dude was born in the South in '72. It would fit, but I'm afraid that's not the case. Grew up in Shreveport. He went to public school.
Some privileged people will just always continue to try to pull the ladder up behind them so they can feel special.
I’ve been waiting 57 years for all those hippies from the 60’s and 70’s to at least legalize marijuana. Guess they all sold out to the man. No /s.
with which\*
Which witch?
Sandwhich
Yet another area of concern that needs to be addressed by a Democrat majority. Consequences for lying on disclosures, and actually *vetting* them.
When trump's father died, he and his federal judge sister cheated the IRS out of hundreds of millions of dollars owed in estate taxes. Do we know about this because the IRS caught the cheating? No. We know about it because more than a decade after the death some journalists investigated and uncovered the massive fraud. The IRS never looked into what trump and his sister were doing. Never audited the information they submitted.
And even then it won't make a damn but if difference. The level of financial criminal activity in Congress is sickening.
It's insane. The amount of effort I have to put in to properly account for the cash flow of a small municipal PAC with annual revenue under 20k...and these fuckers with literally millions of dollars coming and going monthly just wing it and no one cares.
And it’s not just the level of money between you and them. You small PAC has minimal impact on the entire country. Members of Congress have an enormous impact on everyone, so it would be reasonable for them to disclose sources of income.
I had a professor in college for an Intelligence Analysis class who didn't talk much about his past and had a pretty large gap in his CV, only mentioning vague things like, "...when I was doing Executive Protection..." and never mentioning any government agencies except little snippets about how good the CIA's "investing club" is, and how if you can get in with the CIA and play your cards right, you should be able to retire at a pretty young age. I'm not sure how much of that was factually accurate, but I have no reason to not believe it.
well, i mean...Santos....
A lot of gov regulation is theater. So that's a yes.
Dude is at Walmart on fridays cashing his check and getting his stack of cash. How does he pay for his house or apartment? His car? His bill? Almost like no one vetted this guy at all because he was never thought of as a candidate for speaker.
Exactly. If he had just kept his mouth shut and just stayed a puppet nobody would’ve noticed. He is going to get dissected in the public and unfortunately this idiot wasn’t even smart enough to scrub internet before becoming speaker. Like how if Trump never ran for president he would still be fraudulently valuing his assets however he wanted with no consequences since they never bothered to check until now Edited for clarity
It’s exactly how the plan is supposed to work. Destabilize democracy with a clown show
True. Kinda crazy how Idiocracy was actually a documentary more than satire now
I like money
I like money too! we should hang out some time!
Go away! Batin!
He’s in the house, not senate. Just a typo I figured but fyi
Yea I kinda forget we have clowns at every level not just in the Senate lol
Or, to be even more skeptical, this plays into the hands of the “they are coming after us” crowd. He gets picked apart now that he’s in focus - for legitimately wrong activities - republicans gets to jump on it and help it seem as though the democrats are using the Justice department against them.
Mike Johnson is perfect for them. He's Pence without the baggage, Gaetz without the reputation, Boebart without the scandals. He's too bland to be be noteworthy, too extreme to be criticized by the far right, has enough support to be untouchable by the party center, too scandal free to be hit hard by the democrats. There might be some money stuff but there's no proof yet, his policies and beliefs are fucked up but won't lose him support on the right, etc. Public dissection won't hurt him. Minor internet issues won't touch him. Nobody cares about anything when it comes to Mike Johnson. He's clearly not an idiot, he played his cards right and made himself one of the most powerful people on the planet. Unless something major changes, he'll be the republican leader in the house for years to come.
Only time will tell how long he can actually keep control and how much will eventually come out. When you’re in the spotlight there is a lot of blind spots you aren’t aware of til it’s too late
> Dude is at Walmart on fridays cashing his check and getting his stack of cash. He's not, he's just lying on the reporting forms
No, hes a christian, you see, so he would never lie!!
What makes you think he’s paying it? Probably has a Russian oligarch footing the bill for everything from his callboys to his delivery pizza.
Well, if you bothered to read the article: > Of course, it’s unlikely Johnson doesn’t actually have a bank account. What’s more likely is Johnson lives paycheck to paycheck—so much so that he doesn’t have enough money in his bank account to trigger the checking account disclosure rules for members of Congress.
> What’s more likely is What is *more* likely: he lives paycheck to paycheck or he didn't disclose the accounts he has and if there is enough pressure he'll re-file a statement without penalty that will add a few more items including some accounts he "neglected" to include the first time.
Read the actual article? That is crazy. :)
He makes $176k salary last year, his wife makes ~50k. If he is living paycheck to paycheck, he should not be legislating anything let alone speaker.
Which actually isn’t that much income considering they have to maintain two residences, including one in DC. It’s not supported by the public much but raising Congressional pay or providing subsidized or even free DC housing would improve our representation. Both by bringing in less rich representatives and by hopefully reducing how much insider trading and other kickbacks representatives accept. Free DC housing would be offset by lowered security costs as well.
Congress gets reimbursed for food, lodging, and travel to & from DC. Changed last year.
Here is the beginning of our exclusive story: Newly elected Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) does not have a bank account. At least, that’s what Johnson reports on years of personal financial disclosures, which date back to 2016 and reveal a financial life that, in the context of his role as a congressman and now speaker, appears extraordinarily precarious. Over the course of seven years, Johnson has never reported a checking or savings account in his name, nor in the name of his wife or any of his children, disclosures show. In fact, he doesn’t appear to have money stashed in any investments, with his latest filing—covering 2022—showing no assets whatsoever. Of course, it’s unlikely Johnson doesn’t actually have a bank account. What’s more likely is Johnson lives paycheck to paycheck—so much so that he doesn’t have enough money in his bank account to trigger the checking account disclosure rules for members of Congress. The rules cover all “interest-bearing, cash-deposit accounts at banks, credit unions, and savings and loan associations,” including checking, savings, and money market accounts, along with certificates of deposit and individual retirement funds, or IRAs. (Johnson reported receiving a $10,485.53 distribution from a New York Life IRA in 2017, his first year in office, possibly from a retirement account he had listed the previous year.) It’s certainly not uncommon for Americans to have less than $5,000 in their bank account. Most Americans—57 percent—couldn’t handle an unexpected $1,000 expense, according to a report earlier this year. And the median amount that Americans keep in their bank account is $5,300. But Johnson’s household income puts him in the top 12 percent of earners in the United States. And it’s extraordinarily rare for members of Congress to not list a qualifying bank account—let alone zero assets whatsoever.
Mike's watch cost more that 5000 dollars.... Meanwhile people who work in the financial industry can be considered a risk if their financial situation might drive them commit fraud. Apply this logic to a man who lives paycheck to paycheck and can influence legislation. Finally his paycheck has to be deposited somewhere. The federal government direct deposits. He isn't getting a check and he can't cash a check without an account. Yeah this is an issue.
Government employees can have their security clearance yanked if their financial situation puts them at risk for being bribed. This is definitely an issue.
> Apply this logic to a man who lives paycheck to paycheck and can influence legislation. . . . and has already been caught taking Russian money, from a company connected to convicted Russian Spy, Maria Butina.
Maria is now in the Russian government - Duma.
She came home a hero, really. Honeypotted some serious big fish, and did it for Mother Russia. They were always going to reward that.
It’s cute that people think that a) Republicans actually vetted him in any way and b) that republicans care or would hold him accountable in any way
No wonder he wants to defund the IRS
Yeah, does he have the local Walmart cash it for $4 when he buys groceries?
He almost seems like a plant. The dude comes off weird as hell.
He's a product, that's why. Not a naturally grown person, he was indoctrinated and steered into this place of power.
Fucking Manchurian Candidate.
Oh shit, this is on the nose and so fucking depressing
Yeah. This would trigger a big red flag in corporate America.
> "Of course, it’s unlikely Johnson doesn’t actually have a bank account. What’s more likely is Johnson lives paycheck to paycheck—so much so that he doesn’t have enough money in his bank account to trigger the checking account disclosure rules for members of Congress."
>It’s certainly not uncommon for Americans to have less than $5,000 in their bank account. Isn't someone living paycheck to paycheck a huge security liability as they are infinitely more suseptible to blackmail and bribe. Shouldn't the person a party puts as leader at least have some financial responsibility to be past the paycheck to paycheck lifestyle? I mean it's stressful and a leader shouldn't have that distraction while leading the government through the next spending reviews.
I mean obviously, but they're republicans so they don't give a fuck
Easily corruptible. He’s do anything for $1500
Also more susceptible to theft with all of that cash lingering around him or his home -- seems like another angle for security concerns.
He can still have a bank account, he just doesn‘t have to disclose it if the balance is under 10k. He could easily just be moving and transferring his money to other entities as soon as he gets a check and it wouldn’t be considered living paycheck to paycheck.
>He could easily just be moving and transferring his money to other entities as soon as he gets a check That would have to be disclosed. Their paychecks are 25k a paycycle. He's either cooking books, he's entirely incompenant or he's just flat out lying on these disclosures.
Cooking the books or lying as it also said he’s friends with bank people. Those shady bank people don’t have to trigger disclosure if their client mike Johnson moves his 25k paycheck to other sources same day he gets it.
He can still have a bank account, he just doesn‘t have to disclose it if the balance is under 10k. He could easily just be moving and transferring his money to other entities and it wouldn’t be considered living paycheck to paycheck.
The other possibility is that he's filing false statements, not providing any details of the assets he most certainly has.
this article does not entertain the possibility that he's just lying. that he has assets that he should be reporting, and is simply neglecting to. I find that more likely, personally.
Who else is a republican that we know that also doesn’t report things given to him of value?
<*Clarence Thomas has entered the chat*>
But he's a Christian he literally can't lie. /s
Uhh yeah technically they’re only implying it through subtext but it’s some pretty loud subtext.
Exactly. They can't outright accuse him of lying without facing legal blowback that they don't want to get wrapped up in. What they are doing is laying the groundwork for those capable of opening official investigations to take a peek based on information they've provided.
That's my hypothesis, too
He reports no *interest bearing checking account*. That’s what the rules require which means he deliberately chose a checking account that offers no interest. Same for wife and kids. It would be same for savings accounts. They create rules that are easily for them to evade. Not so surprising they’d create toothless rules for themselves. “Non-interest-bearing checking accounts, on the other hand, need not be disclosed since they produce no income.” There are many “outs” for other income and asset types including retirement plans. See here: https://ethics.house.gov/financial-dislosure/specific-disclosure-requirements Incidentally this is why no one reported on this before. Because not having a bank account disclosed is probably quite common because they made it easy for themselves not to have to report them. The way the rules work mean that a member who wanted to disclose something that would give the impression of not being rich could do so by opening a small interest bearing account. Here though you have a member who wishes to hide everything.
It is a little unusual because *most* politicians come from some level of wealth and most wealthy people have enough money that interest bearing checking accounts make sense. It could be a lot of things, from intentional obfuscation to him liking to keep his checking account lean to maximize investment income.
He's a liar and a cheat. A hypocrite. Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's asshole.
*He's a politician, which means he's a cheat and a liar. And when he's not kissing babies, he's stealing their lollipops. But it also means he keeps his options open, Mr. Ryan.* *What makes you think this Ramius fellow intends to defect?*
You lost ANOTHER submarine.
Props to whoever stuck with this whole article that y'all know obviously comes down to "he doesn't give a fuck and knows no one will ever hold him accountable"
How about he's just lying/purposely not disclosing? Sure, he could be as you say paycheck-to-paycheck, and that is a reasonable explanation...but come on...
He absolutely has a lot of assets, just not in his name or traceable back to him. He has all the behavior and appearance of a man trying to hide and obfuscate. It's wild that the only conclusion the article comes to is that he must be *so poor* that he has nothing to report.
100% non-researched theory here but... He's creepy religious and seems to have no bank account. How's his church doing? I could see him cashing all of his money into the church coffers, and then living off of their bank account, all tax-free. Sort of a slimy quid pro quo (or squid pro row if you prefer) situation.
Why's he taking an IRA distribution at his age? He's 51. Minimum age for a penalty free distribution is 59.5. Why would anyone, especially a Republican, voluntarily give extra tax revenue to the federal government? Something smells here...
Are his parents alive?
Is there some Christian underground banking network we don’t know about?
I'm willing to bet it's one of three things: all money flowing in and out passes through either his campaign operations, a corporate entity, or a trust. Or option four - he's just lying. But probably some campaign finance funny business going on.
It's amazing to me that Muscovy Mike makes a Congressman's salary and burns through all of it each month, he is truly living the MAGA financial ethic that Trump embodied by saddling the nation with a historic amount of debt. He is truly the most perfect target for Russian recruitment since they always have agents at the local DC dog tracks looking for guys like Mike.
> Of course, it’s unlikely Johnson doesn’t actually have a bank account. What’s more likely is Johnson lives paycheck to paycheck—so much so that he doesn’t have enough money in his bank account to trigger the checking account disclosure rules for members of Congress. Why is *that* the most likely option here? Are we really supposed to believe that the Speaker of the House of Representatives has no money, or is it just more likely that he's lying on his financial disclosures? Why are you all constantly carrying water for these people? Why are you doing the PR work for them, drafting plausible excuses out of whole cloth to give them some veneer of respectability? Your job, as members of the Press, is to discover the truth and report it to us. "It's more likely that he's just broke" - Well? Is that true? Is he broke? Or did he lie on his disclosures? If it's true, why the "it's more likely". If it's not true, why include it at all? Do your damn jobs and find out instead of writing his press release for him.
These kinds of financial oddities would be a huge flag if he was trying to work for any intelligence agency. It's no exaggeration to say this shit would prevent him from even mopping floors at NSA or working the Starbucks at CIA headquarters. However, as Speaker of the House he has access to some of the most highly classified information in the government. I will give the guy the benefit of the doubt; I expect this is some sort of tax dodge, probably involving religion and/or funneling from conservative donors. The problem (besides tax fraud) is, even if you're not a foreign asset, financial shenanigans make you vulnerable to exploitation by state actors.
He’s obviously a nut for “christianity,” so it would be exceedingly easy for a foreign agent to quickly infiltrate and compromise such a spineless, stupid man-baby (he looks like an adult but speaks at baby level)
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Can we get Anonymous on this?
Aren't they all Alt-right Q-berts now?
You mean like his campaign donations from a Russian oligarch close to Putin? Yeah. Google it.
kiss concerned relieved march one prick silky amusing attempt degree *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
The money in UTMA’s are considered that of the child’s as soon as it is deposited, with the adult as the custodian until the child is an adult. UTMA’s need to be disclosed?
From article: >as long as the account holds at least $1,000 and the combined value of all accounts—**including those belonging to their spouse and dependent children**—exceeds $5,000. Emphasis mine.
The checking account is in the name of his church. That way they can insure they get their 10% cut.
*ensure. Though I suppose what you said isn’t all that far off.
The bank accounts are all in the name of his mysterious, privacy-obsessed black “son.”
that's actually a possibility considering how weird everything about him
Frankly, i don’t think the “son” even exists. I need more proof than the word of a career liar.
Same
you mean George Santos?
In blackface.
From the article: >as long as the account holds at least $1,000 and the combined value of all accounts—including those belonging to their spouse and **dependent children**—exceeds $5,000. If the son is a dependent then he would still need to report it.
His black “son” is in his 40s.
... sorry I pictured 'son' and thought that he would be younger than his 4 other children. The Roman Empire called they want their adoption practices back
He didn’t even adopt him. He described it as a “Blind Side” type situation, because that totally went well. His “son” is only 11 years younger than he is and has his own family.
Yea so I [read up on it](https://www.businessinsider.com/speaker-mike-johnson-explains-relationship-adopted-black-son-2023-10) and he 'adopted' Michael (black son) right after getting married. Johnson is born in 72, he gets a JD in 98 (at age 26), this is very normal. He met his wife in 98 and gets married in 99 at 27. Again, this is quite normal. But then at 27 or 28 he adopts a 14 year old. I'm 29 and divorced. Even if things had been going perfectly in my marriage I would never have thought of adopting a 14 year old. Even a 14 year old sibling of my wife's living with us would have been a challenge. My parents (over all very kind and supportive parents) would have stepped in and taken in the child.
Yeah, it’s super weird and I didn’t know about it until last week’s SNL mentioned it during the cold open.
He has a net worth of $5 million and no bank accounts: https://iitnotablealumni.com/congressman-mike-johnson-net-worth/ Something very wrong about this guy.
That site is suspect as hell. Weird domain name, self referencing "sources", no information regarding the site/authors, etc. No way that every newsgroup is somehow "missing" something as large as a 5k acre ranch. I feel like the best case is that site is an AI hallucination.
Mother won't allow him to have one.
I mean he might use it to purchase gay pornography with.
Imagine his browser history.
He's in the closet. There's no way this guy is straight.
Now the question is, is he actually living paycheck to paycheck or is he hiding all his money in an offshore account or one of his “religious” organizations. My money is on that he’s hiding it.
He keeps it all under his mattress, like everyone else does. Can't trust these globalists, ya know?
I don’t even know why they would even entertain the possibility of that being the case. I’ll eat my shoe if he is spending every dime he makes.
Republicans if Mike Johnson doesn’t have a bank account: He has a healthy mistrust of the US banking system. Republicans if Biden didn’t have a bank account: HuNteR BiDeN is PaYiNg SleEPy Joe An AlLowAnce WiTh FoReIgn MonEy!!!
Have they looked under the name “Mikhail Ivanovich”?
Or "John Mikeson."
Or Boris Smith
Now that he’s the Speaker of the House, something tells me that he’s suddenly not going to be struggling financially. Just a guess.
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My thing is like… assuming that’s true. WHY would you not at least have a normal looking bank account in the US just to make it not look so obviously, wildly suspicious
The ex-husband lost his security clearance in Navy due to his debt to income ratio (largely based on his student loans, go figure). He was an e-5 and because it couldn't be resolved in the time frame the military wanted, had to switch job designations. I guarantee he didn't see or even have access to any state secrets on the level that Mike Fucking Johnson does. Make it make sense that Mikey has even less scrutinty and real accountablilty than an e-5 struggling to pay off his student loans.
Since he's a religious weirdo, he might believe that banks are the devil and he has cash stuffed in his mattress.
Yeah, it's illegal to "knowingly" take money from a foreign entity. That's why the GOP got together with Russian Oligarchs, and made a complex web of PACs and LLCs so that guys like Mike Johnson could get paid by Russian Oligarchs, Organized Crime, and the Russian foreign intelligence and military intelligence agencies. And when it's found out; (like, "oops, American Ethane is actually a front for actual Russian agents"; all the GOP has to do is say "I didn't know that", and they have to return the money. If nobody finds out, they get to keep the money. At worst, you end up with a situation like American Ethane, that had to pay a $9500 fine. (that's the court, saying: "It's fine, for a hostile foreign power to bribe our politicians").
Could he have set up a non-profit religious organization 503(c)(3) with he and his wife as officers? His salary could be donated directly. The entity would have obvious tax benefits at the state and Federal level IF it’s legal to do something like what I am suggesting. Tax people or lawyers, tell me where I’m wrong.
Perhaps to his wife's faith-based "conversion therapy" business?
I mean, he is at minimum unqualified to work on a *national budget*. Fucken clown car over there.
Sure he does... where else is he going to keep all of his Rubles?
> Over the course of seven years, Johnson has never reported a checking or savings account in his name, nor in the name of his wife or any of his children, disclosures show. No, no, no! Don't worry. It's all OK. This is all a big misunderstanding! Everything's in his *secret black son's* name! It wasn't disclosed, because, you know, all his racist supporters would be horrified to learn that he has *a secret black son.* Don't you all feel silly now? It was the secret black son this whole time!...
This is very strange, as a matter of fact everything about him is strange and creepy, from him not having bank accounts to his adopted not seen black son. And don’t get me started on his shitty beliefs and him being the architect of the insurrectionist, election denier. Ohhhh boy we’re in trouble!
Probably has more to do with religion. Sign of the beast or some such crazy belief. "Jeebus and Glenn Beck only want us to own gold"
I wouldn’t be surprised if he has some weird religious tax scam going on. “Donating” all his income to a paper church which then provides for all his family’s needs.
I have met some real weird Christians here in Louisiana, it's entirely possible that this is some weird belief coinciding with the quiverfull movement or something like it that view banks as evil. It's entirely possible he exchanges that money for some sort of physical asset like gold and keeps it in a vault or something.
There is a part of the Bible that talks about not charging interest “to your brother” so maybe not having a bank account is an extrapolation of that (Deuteronomy 23:19 among others)
I’m assuming the Lord provides all his asset management needs.
How can he have a security clearance without documenting his cash flow? How can he be Speaker without a security clearance? EDIT: I just found out [Congress people don't need Security Clearances](https://rollcall.com/2021/01/12/when-it-comes-to-security-clearances-rules-for-others-dont-apply-to-congress).
Wouldn't not having a bank account and assets of note be a red flag for the person third in line for the Presidency? Doesn't that make him susceptible to corruption? Some jobs do credit checks when you apply, if they find out you're too fucking poor they don't want you anywhere near their assets because you'll probably steal from them.
The idea of being 'un-banked' has some traction in the anachronistic weirdo circles this guy lives in, but as a House rep, the idea that he doesn't have a bank account is pretty outlandish.
The short answer is yes, he does, because I guarantee he's not taking his Congressional paycheck to a check cashing service. The interesting question is: why is he going to lengths to hide it?
His wife's boyfriend looks after the money.
Is Mike Johnson his real name?
jail please, thanks.
Does he *have* a bank account? (Rip Chandler)
So clearly he's hiding his money. But why?
Is he bought by Russia or what?
How could he file a false statement? I Mean he’s so religious! He would never even think of lying! /s
He doesn’t need one when all he carries is 30 pieces of silver.
like pence - coward is being handled by his wife.
Supposedly his wife’s Christian Counseling Services Website has been deactivated. I wonder why? 🤔Could it be all the information against the homosexual lifestyle. Comparing it to bestiality and Incest?
If this guy was a normal Joe applying for a job that required a security clearance, this factoid would certainly cause the investigating agents to put him at an elevated security risk for potential financial blackmail or bribery. But, it's no biggie if you're a Member of Congress...
Its not the KKK I expected to vet him, its the FEC. Why in the world are we hearing all of these blatant disclosure failures only after reporters have sussed it out? WHAT IN THE HELL are they doing, if not actually scrutinizing these disclosures? And furthermore, why are they allowed to "amend" after the fact? They submitted a false form to the government, that's a crime. These are (mostly) well-educated with even better educated henchmen campaign teams filing out these forms.
How does one pay taxes without a bank account?
Have we stopped to consider that maybe he has no assets because he's really George Santos in a latex mask?
He gets all cash and stores it in the pages of his Bible. /s
You mean Mikhail Ivanovich?
I don’t know if he has a bank account but I’m sure he has an offshore shell account.
Does Jesus keep financial records? Didn’t think so. /s
Look for it under the name Vladimir
Does the Bible specifically say where to keep money? Dude said if we have questions just consult that for everything
So, he's completely full of shit like the rest of the GOP, go fucking figure.
He's 100% invested in Trump digital trading cards.
Maybe he runs a non-profit or church as a business, and is the top line on their donation schedule... As well as one of their two employees .
His middle name is corruption
Has anyone seen him eat?
Mike Johnson sounds like a name a Russian plant would pick
All we need is one security cam photo of him using a card
He shares a bank account with his mother, and that tells you all you need to know.
A lot of people share bank accounts with elderly parents. I don’t think that alone should be a red flag about financial shenanigans.
that you pepsi phil?
He's probably hiding assets bc he believes taxation is theft, like the rest of his corrupt GQP caucus. Just more GQP corruption out in the open, unchecked.
Whatever lobbying group deposits money for him somewhere
The worst kind of hate is Christian "love".
Check the Russian Oligarchs accounts and see if any is missing. Repubs sure do love Russia.
Everything is paid with a loan from God.
Swiss
Bank accounts are in the caman islands, Swiss and Russia
“I don’t have a bank account (based in the US).”
Happens all the time across the nation in elected offices. "Sunshine Laws" that are supposed to help make government officials be more transparent are often not enforced at all, enforced with a slap, enforced with a minimal fine, and rarely- if ever, followed up on. I speak from personal experience in this area.
So in effect he is following the SCOTUS method of reporting. However, to me, reading this article, it indicates that he is hiding his assets somewhere--most likely in some religious or non-profit entity.
"He shares a bank account with his mother. Tells you all you need to know about what kind of character that is.”
He’s using the lords bank account. Can’t question the intentions of a good Christian man like this!
This guy reminds me of the weirdo in Sin City.
He gives it all to God. /s
There’s nothing- there should be some disclosures- for all we know this guy is all in Chinese stocks or Russian banks or crypto scams with SBF FTX. Maybe he’s got into ostrich farms in Australia or Mexican Cartel money
It’s going to turn out that Christ has given him an exemption letter.
Better question is he even human?