According to new information released by USA Today, Congressman Vern Buchanan, R-Sarasota, is among America’s wealthiest 1 percent, currently under attack by Occupy Wall Street protesters.
According to the newspaper, Buchanan’s estimated net worth (which doesn’t include his primary residence or personal property) falls somewhere around $136,152,641. As USA Today points out, members of Congress disclose their assets and liabilities in broad ranges, with their estimated net worth falling in the middle of that range.
Occupy Wall Street protesters have rallied against the top 1 percent with their signature slogan: “We are the 99 percent.”
The Federal Election Commission recently investigated a series of donations made to Buchanan’s 2006 and 2008 congressional campaigns, during which he allegedly reimbursed employees who made donations with funds from his car dealership. Buchanan himself wasn’t punished by the FEC, but his former business partner and a car dealership the two once co-owned together were fined for the donations.
The Department of Justice launched its own investigation into Buchanan in October. And, as The Florida Independent has exclusively reported, the House of Representatives’ Office of Congressional Ethics also launched a preliminary investigation into Buchanan in late September.
