Pennsylvania Lt. Governor and Democratic Senate nominee John Fetterman did not mention his eight properties on federal financial disclosures, even though he has repeatedly mocked Republican rival Dr. Mehmet Oz for owning multiple real estate holdings.
According to a Tuesday release from the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust, candidates are required to submit a financial statement that “provides a ‘full and complete’ statement of their assets, debts, and income, as well as any position held.” For any assets, candidates must “report the complete identity and category of value of any interest in property… with a fair market value exceeding $1,000 as of the close of the reporting period.”
The group determined from county court records that Fetterman owns eight properties in Braddock, Pennsylvania, where he served as mayor from 2006 to 2019. None of the properties appeared on Fetterman’s July 29 disclosure documents.
Though many of the properties — worth a combined $108,800 — are empty lots worth between $10,000 and $20,000, one of the holdings was a building structure worth more than $40,000, according to a report from the Daily Mail. “These properties don’t produce any income and are not investment properties, so John did not need to disclose them,” Fetterman spokesperson Nicholas Gavio told the outlet.
Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust Executive Director Kendra Arnold said in a statement that Fetterman was likely required to mention the properties. The group sent a letter outlining their concerns to Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) and Sen. James Lankford (R-OK), who lead the Senate Select Committee on Ethics.
“It appears all of these properties should have been disclosed on Mr. Fetterman’s personal financial disclosure,” Arnold explained. “Candidates are well aware of their obligation to comply with the law and have an affirmative duty to do so. Moreover, when a Senate candidate fails to comply with the disclosure laws, it is indicative as to whether they will comply with the law if elected — and it is especially concerning when they don’t.”
Fetterman and his campaign has nevertheless mocked Oz for his multiple real estate holdings — which include a $36 million beachfront mansion in Florida — as well as ambiguity regarding the celebrity cardiologist’s disclosures.
“A house? A property? An investment property? What? Dr. Oz is so out of touch that he doesn’t even get that real people — people who he claims he will fight for in Washington — don’t care about the difference,” Fetterman spokesperson Emilia Rowland told CBS News last week.
Democrats are hoping that Fetterman will provide a majority in the evenly-divided Senate. However, Fetterman — who leads Oz by a margin of 48% to 44%, according to a recent poll from Emerson College — suffered a stroke days before the commonwealth’s primary election and has since stumbled through speeches at multiple campaign appearances. His campaign has not yet specified details of a debate with his rival.
Last month, a report from The Washington Free Beacon revealed that Fetterman sends at least one of his children to Winchester Thurston, an elite Pittsburgh private school with a five-figure tuition, despite opposing voucher programs. He formerly argued that “taking money away from public schools and putting them into charter and private schools does not solve anything.”
