“How Mike Bloomberg Hid His Billions from You”

Dave Levinthal for CPI:

Michael Bloomberg is extraordinarily rich. And in December, soon after becoming an extraordinarily rich presidential candidate — one required by law to publicly disclose his personal assets within one month’s time — Bloomberg pleaded plenitude.

“Mr. Bloomberg requires additional time to collect information regarding complex holdings and prepare and file his report,” Bloomberg attorney Lawrence Norton wrote to regulators at the Federal Election Commission.

The FEC, as it all but reflexively does with dallying presidential candidates, granted Bloomberg’s request for 45 more days — days that came and went.

On Jan. 17, another letter.

“Mr. Bloomberg … has made diligent efforts to prepare his report,” Norton wrote the FEC. “Nevertheless, due to the complexity of his holdings and the need to obtain certain information from third parties, Mr. Bloomberg needs additional time to gather and review his financial information and complete and file his report.”

The FEC again gave Bloomberg 45 more days. The former mayor of New York City and Bloomberg LP mogul needn’t file his personal financial disclosure form until March 20 — after Bloomberg had already pumped more than half a billion dollars of his own money into his campaign and after millions of Democrats cast ballots during Super Tuesday primaries.

Small hitch: Bloomberg is now a former presidential candidate. As such, he is no longer under legal obligation to disclose the sources of his wealth or any creditors he owes, according to guidance from the FEC and Office of Government Ethics.

In essence, Bloomberg ran out the clock on transparency.

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