Lauren Boebert belatedly reveals husband earned $478k consulting for energy company

A freshman member of Congress from Colorado is finding herself under increasing scrutiny by the Federal Election Commission (FEC) over nearly half a million dollars her husband earned in 2020 which she did not initially disclose on her required FEC paperwork.

Congresswoman Lauren Boebert, an outspoken right-wing Republican who was one of many to support former President Donald Trump’s ongoing false claims about the 2020 election, was reported by the Associated Press to have amended her paperwork on Tuesday to include that income.

But the $478,000 Jayson Boebert, her husband, made from his consulting business in 2019 was not the only problem spotted by FEC officials with Ms Boebert’s paperwork.

Other disclosures revealed that her campaign paid her roughly $24,000 in four $6,000 increments between May and June of last year; those transaction were made in error and refunded, the congresswoman’s office said.

“The Venmo charges were personal expenses that were billed to the campaign account in error. The reimbursement has already happened and will appear in the Q3 filing,” Jake Settle, the congresswoman’s press secretary, added to The Independent.

Members of Congress who fail to accurately report their or their spouse’s income, as well as expenditures on the campaign trail, can face consequences levelled by the House Ethics Committee. In 2015, a GOP member from Illinois resigned after repeated questions from reporters about his expenditures.

A Republican, Ms Boebert is seen as a reliable ally of fossil fuel interests as with most of her caucus. Her husband’s work, had it been more widely reported during her campaign, could have influenced voters in either the primary or the general election, which she won over her Democratic opponent by single digits.

“Mr Boebert has worked in energy production for 18 years and has had Boebert Consulting since 2012,” an aide to Ms Boebert told the AP in an emailed statement. “For any other questions regarding the congresswoman’s finances, I’d refer you to the disclosure she filed.”