It’s a crazy morning here at Flash-Central, which is good our friends over at the California Term Limits Defense Fund. They released this just now, which will bring to you in this space:
TERM LIMITS GROUP DEMANDS NUNEZ RELEASE TAX RETURNS AND WIFE’S CLIENT LIST IMMEDIATELY
Calls for Speaker to Make Full Financial Disclosure to Put Questions to Rest
The California Term Limits Defense Fund (CTLDF) today called on Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez to immediately release all of his tax returns since he assumed the Speakership and to also fully disclose the clients list and income of his wife’s consulting firm.
The committee’s demand is in response to the numerous media reports and increasing controversy concerning Nunez’s lavish lifestyle, personal use of his campaign account for international travel and luxury goods, and questions surrounding his sources of income and personal living arrangements.
Bob Adney, Executive Director of CTLDF declared, "The fundamental question is whether our self-proclaimed middle class Speaker has anything to hide when it comes to financing his lifestyle. The people of California deserve to know whether the second most powerful politician in the state, who has the ability to impact the daily life of every man, woman and child in the Golden State, is abusing his position for personal financial gain. There is a growing cloud over Fabian Nunez’s Speakership and he needs to put this issue to rest by making full and public disclosure of his various financial arrangements and by answering several relevant questions:"
"How can Nunez afford to pay a mortgage and property taxes of almost $100,000 a year on his Sacramento home when his salary is $130,000 a year?"
"Is Nunez’s fundraiser, Dan Weitzman, who has received almost $600,000 in recent years from the Speaker and who Nunez lives with part-time, supplementing the Speaker’s income? At a minimum, who is paying for groceries, meals and other expenses for Fabian Nunez when he is at his Los Angeles loft?"
"Despite Nunez’s claims that his lavish spending was on gifts for foreign dignitaries, it strains credulity that the many thousands of dollars spent at men’s clothing stores in Sacramento, at Pottery Barn, at Nordstrom’s, for wine, for food and other personal items did not find their way into the hands of the Speaker and/or the Nunez family. Is Nunez reporting such items as income on his tax returns?"
Who are his wife’s clients and exactly how much are they paying her and what is she doing to earn that money? State disclosure forms will not be due to be filed until next year and they do not list exact income. Media reports indicate that Nunez appointed a businessman earlier this year to the Coastal Commission who helped arrange a contract for Nunez’s wife of $125,000 a year for consulting services. Is the business of Nunez’s wife simply a conduit for connected special interest groups and individuals to put money in the Speaker’s personal bank account without having to write Fabian’s name on a check?
"We eagerly await the Speaker’s response. However, based on Nunez’s earlier effort to flee the media and his reluctance to answer questions, we are not optimistic that he will be open to resolving these issues once and for all. But if Fabian Nunez cannot or will not put these serious financial questions to rest, it may be necessary to call for law enforcement agencies to pursue these issues," concluded Adney.
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