Maggie Goodlander is a candidate in the Democratic primary for the seat of retiring Rep. Annie Kuster (D.N.H.). Personal Financial Disclosure This has raised questions about the actual value of her substantial assets.
Goodlander is married to Jake Sullivan, a former senior Justice Department official and national security adviser under President Biden. She is running to fill Castor's seat in New Hampshire's 2nd Congressional District, a Democratic area that Biden won by 9 points in 2020. Her primary opponent, Collin Van Ostern, is backed by Castor, while Goodlander is backed by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the abortion rights group Emily's List. The winner of the primary is likely to defeat the Republican candidate in November.
Questions about Goodlander's Aug. 12 personal finance disclosure come as the race heats up ahead of the Sept. 10 primary, with Goodlander leading in recent polls and Castor himself entering the race to back Van Ostern.
The disclosure has experts puzzled because it lists the values of several easily verifiable assets as “undetermined,” including checking accounts, retirement accounts, investment accounts, government bonds, cash bonds and several properties and land that the report says are currently for sale.
“This is pretty bizarre, to be honest with you,” Daniel Caputo, ethics counsel at the Campaign Legal Center, said of the revelations.
Examples of assets with “undetermined” values include Fidelity Investments Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) and Yale University Retirement Savings Accounts.
These assets were not included among the five options selected by the House Ethics Committee. was deemed appropriate Mark the value of annuities, futures contracts, intellectual property rights, solar energy rights, and certain options contracts as “undetermined.”
“I've seen dozens of times where 'to be determined' is listed as a property value,” Caputo said.
Members of Congress, federal candidates, and senior congressional staff are required by the Government Ethics Act of 1978 to file annual reports disclosing their personal assets, liabilities, and outside income.
Goodlander, who served as counsel during former President Trump's first impeachment trial, secured a 90-day postponement from the House clerk in May, an option typically taken by filers seeking more time to complete required disclosures.
In response to a request from The Hill, a spokesperson for Goodlander's campaign suggested an amendment to the financial disclosure is expected soon.
“The campaign completed its initial financial disclosure using all information available at the time,” a spokesperson said in a statement.
“Like many first-time candidates, the campaign plans to file an amendment once it receives the additional information it has requested.”
Candidates and lawmakers who file financial disclosures are only required to disclose broad outlines of the value of their assets, raising further questions about Goodlander's assets and his ability to provide transparency about his personal finances.
Not only did Goodlander not specify values for most of his assets, but he also marked each one as “other.” Specific Code The same is true for trusts, bank accounts, retirement accounts, real estate, and other assets, even if you have disclosed the range of values of those assets.
Goodlander's disclosure also did not provide a breakdown of the assets underlying certain retirement accounts, including 401(k) plans and IRAs, as required by the House Ethics Committee.
“What is the purpose of leaving out details that are required in a financial disclosure statement? It just doesn't inform the people you're trying to represent about who exactly you are and who you may or may not be beholden to,” Caputo said.
Goodlander, who has raised more money than Van Ostern, has come under attack from his opponent for his ties to the district. Recently Published AdsCastor accused Goodlander of running a “deceptive campaign to buy a seat” and “donating thousands of dollars to pro-life Republicans.”
Goodlander's campaign spoke out against the ad in a statement.
“Collin Van Ostern's attack on Maggie Goodlander to suggest she won't fight for reproductive freedom is false, shameful and over the top,” a campaign spokesman said. “He knows Maggie's professional record in this fight and knows that she and her husband have been fighting an uphill battle when it comes to their reproductive health.”
“It is disgusting to try to exploit this issue to score political points,” the spokesman added.
Goodlander's campaign also released several ads addressing the issue of abortion and where she lives.In one advertisement“Colin Van Ostern has been dishonest with you about my commitment to reproductive freedom. It's shameful,” Goodlander said.
In another adState Sen. Cindy Rosenwald, a Democrat, called the “lies” about Goodlander “outrageous.”
“It would be a joke to suggest she's not from here,” Rosenwald says in the ad. “Maggie was born and raised in Nashua.”
Recent polls have Goodlander narrowly ahead of Van Ostern: University of New Hampshire Granite State PollReleased last weekIn the survey, Biden administration officials came out on top with 34 percent saying they were undecided, Van Ostern with 28 percent saying they were undecided, while 38 percent said they didn't know or were undecided.
Poll by Saint Anselm College Research CenterReleased earlier this monthMr. Goodlander led Mr. Van Ostern 41 percent to 31 percent, with 28 percent unsure.
The Cook Political Report rates this seat as “likely to be won by a Democrat.”
