Complaint Follows LA Times Investigation Showing Elder Has Refused to Disclose His Financial Holdings
Elder Has Built A Career On The Radio Pushing Medically Dubious Products To His Listeners & Carrying Water for The Tobacco Industry. How Much Was He Paid to Do So?
CADEM Lays Out 10 Questions Larry Elder Must Answer About His Finances
SACRAMENTO, CA – Following an LA Times investigation, California Democratic Party’s (CADEM) Chair Rusty Hicks filed a complaint with the FPPC against leading GOP recall election candidate Larry Elder for failure to properly disclose personal and business financial information required by law. This information includes his business income, details on any radio sponsorship deals, investments, and interests in real property.
As a rightwing radio host, Elder has a long history promoting medically dubious over the counter products to his listeners. A previous LA Times investigation found that Elder repeatedly sought to undermine the scientific consensus around the dangers of smoking and secondhand smoke. He even promoted a tobacco conglomerate that sought to use tobacco for treatment of COVID-19.
The California Democratic Party is demanding Larry Elder disclose all of his sources of income. Given numerous public examples of Elder promoting suspicious and harmful products, here are 10 questions prompted by the complaint:
1. Has Elder ever been delinquent on his taxes and if so, did Elder make it right?
2. Has Elder ever taken money or had other business arrangements with the tobacco industry or its consultants?
3. Given that Elder’s business is registered as a foreign corporation of an Ohio S Corp, has he always paid California corporate and income taxes? What about local business taxes?
4. What kind of business arrangements does Elder have with outside companies?
a. What standards does Elder apply to potential sponsors?
b. Does Elder indicate to his listeners when a guest is also an advertiser? If so, how?
5. What kind of business arrangements does Elder have with media companies? Are any of them covering this campaign, or likely to be covering it?
6. Has Elder taken or made any private loans, for business or real estate or otherwise?
7. Elder posted a photo of himself flying in a private jet. Has Elder reported that as a campaign contribution? Is that a regular practice? If so, why hasn’t Elder disclosed it in his prior filings? Whose plane is it?
8. Disclosure of all speaking fees – who’s paying Elder, and how much? Is Elder still receiving speaking fees now, while a candidate?
9. Has Elder ever been on the payroll of any for-profit colleges?
10. In the course of campaigning for Trump, did Trump (or his campaign committees, representatives, or business entities) ever pay or reimburse Elder’s expenses, or compensate him in any other way?
