A Democratic political group is accusing Republican Rep. Young Kim of failing to properly disclose nearly $50,000 worth of privately sponsored travel between 2022 and 2024 — and is urging the independent Office of Congressional Conduct to investigate.
In a complaint filed Thursday and reviewed by NOTUS, End Citizens United says Kim omitted trips to Israel, South Korea, San Antonio, New York City and Williamsburg, Va., from personal financial disclosure reports that federal lawmakers are required to file annually with Congress.
“Without this information, the public is shielded from knowing whether Rep. Kim may have certain conflicts of interest,” the complaint states.
The cost of two of the trips stretched well into five figures.
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The American Israel Education Foundation spent $25,000 on Kim to travel to Israel in 2022, while the U.S. Association of Former Members of Congress and The Korea Society footed a $19,000 bill for her travel to South Korea in 2024. Kim brought her husband on both trips, which included accommodations at five-star hotels.
While the House Ethics Committee approved Kim’s trips, not disclosing them on an annual financial disclosure is a violation of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, End Citizens United wrote in its complaint to the Office of Congressional Ethics.
“Rep. Kim always acts in accordance with House rules and works with counsel to file all necessary disclosures. Any oversight will be promptly corrected,” a spokeswoman for Kim said in a statement.
Following publication of this article, Kim submitted amended her personal financial disclosure reports to publicly disclose the five privately funded trips.
“We have seen how private travel can be used with lawmakers or with justices or with others, to end up currying favor and to push a specific agenda,” Tiffany Muller, president of End Citizens United, told NOTUS. “It’s critically important that we have that disclosure and transparency so we can more fully understand the picture of access and influence.”
Under federal law, House members must disclose privately funded travel that — as of 2024 — costs more than $480.
End Citizens United argues that Kim, who represents a district southeast of Los Angeles, could not reasonably claim ignorance of the requirement because, in previous years, the congresswoman correctly disclosed similar travel to Korea sponsored by the Association of Former Members of Congress.
“That is not an oversight. That’s a really clear pattern,” Muller said, “I think her repeated failures to follow the law on this makes it clear she’s not being transparent with the people she represents.”
Established in 2008, the Office of Congressional Conduct reviews allegations of misconduct against House members and staff and is empowered to make formal recommendations to the House Ethics Committee.
The House Ethics Committee, in turn, may conduct its own inquiries and vote to punish — or clear — subjects of its investigations.
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