Peters Campaign Calls on Corey Gustafson to Explain Violation of Statutes Governing Campaign Ethics & Transparency

News for Immediate Release
October 28, 2022
Contact: MaryAnne Pintar, [email protected]

Peters Campaign Calls on Corey Gustafson to Explain Violation of Statutes Governing Campaign Ethics & Transparency

What’s Corey Hiding?

SAN DIEGO – Today, the Scott Peters for Congress campaign called on its opponent, Corey Gustafson, to explain why he appears in violation of three federal statutes governing campaign ethics and transparency. Federal law requires candidates that have raised or spent more than $5,000 to file within 30 days of becoming a candidate, or by May 15 of that year, a personal financial disclosure with the Clerk of the House of Representatives. The Gustafson campaign reached this threshold months ago; no such disclosure is on file.

“Someone who wants to write the law first must show he can follow the law. Candidates for public office have a serious obligation to know and abide by all rules governing campaign ethics; failure to shows a lack of respect for voters, our elections, and the rule of law,” said campaign spokesperson MaryAnne Pintar.

“At our last candidate forum, Mr. Gustafson unsuccessfully tried to paint Rep. Peters as anti-law enforcement. Only one candidate in this race currently appears to be breaking campaign laws – it’s Mr. Gustafson. I’d also remind Corey that in the United States, ignorance of the law is not a defense,” Pintar added.

Public access to financial disclosure filings is mandated by several statutes, including the Ethics in Government Act, the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 and the STOCK Act. Under these provisions, the Clerk of the House will make all candidate financial disclosure statements publicly available. The Peters campaign made several attempts to locate Gustafson’s legally required disclosure. It appears they have not been filed.

The Peters campaign calls on members of the media to ask Mr. Gustafson why he has failed to file these important documents and what he might be hiding.

Rep. Scott Peters is a Democrat running for re-election in California’s newly drawn 50th Congressional district.

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