拥有数千万美元资产的助理司法部长提名人瓦妮塔·古普塔是拜登政府迄今为止公开发布财务披露表的最富有的政治提名人。
古普塔的财务利益被披露之际,参议院司法委员会(Senate Judiciary Committee)下周将举行一场可能不稳定的确认听证会。
从民权律师转为司法部提名人的古普塔在提交给政府道德办公室的披露报告中称,她与配偶拥有4200万至1.87亿美元的资产和财产。文件显示,她报告过去一年的收入在90.2万至300万美元之间。
她的最大一部分资产来自她在与其父亲拉吉·古普塔(Raj Gupta)有关联的公司中的股份。古普塔是一名企业董事长和华尔街金融家,拥有巨大的企业利益。
根据这份文件,凡尼亚塔·古普塔拥有总部设在宾夕法尼亚州的化工和材料公司阿凡托1100万至5500万美元的股份,拉杰·古普塔是该公司的董事长董事会主席。
她还表示拥有总部位于爱尔兰都柏林的美国-爱尔兰-英国汽车零部件公司Aptiv 50万至100万美元的股份,Raj Gupta也是该公司的董事主席。
根据这份报告,古普塔还拥有与私人股本公司新山资本(New Mountain Capital)相关的95万至200万美元的实体,她的父亲曾担任该公司的董事高级顾问。拉吉·古普塔(Raj Gupta)还在最大的指数基金公司之一先锋集团(Vanita Gupta)的董事会任职,Vanita Gupta拥有价值1100万至4900万美元的先锋指数基金,这些基金通常由其他政治任命者拥有。
苏珊·沃尔什/美联社档案
在这张2021年1月7日的档案照片中,副检察长提名人瓦妮塔·古普塔在一次
她通过她控制的家族信托持有大部分资产,除了Avantor的500万至2500万美元、Aptiv的50万至100万美元和新山金融公司的6位数资产,这些资产都在一个经纪账户下。
在拜登过渡团队提供的道德协议中,瓦尼塔·古普塔(Vanita Gupta)写道,她将保留在这些公司的财务利益,但将辞去其家族信托共同受托人的职务。
她也不会“亲自或实质性地”参与与她或她的家人拥有财务利益的公司相关的事务。
她还写道,她不会参与与她父亲担任领导职务的公司有关的事务,包括Avantor和Aptiv。
拜登过渡团队的发言人在被问及古普塔的财务利益时,提到了美国广播公司新闻部的道德协议。司法部没有立即回应美国广播公司新闻的置评请求。
总部位于华盛顿的好政府组织竞选法律中心的高级法律伦理顾问德莱尼·马斯科(Delaney Marsco)表示,古普塔计划回避涉及其家人和自己经济利益的问题,这通常是利益冲突法所要求的。
拜登选择的证券交易委员会主席加里·根斯勒(Gary Gensler)是拜登任命的第二富有的人,他在这一点上披露了他们的财务利益。根斯勒报告称,他拥有4100万至1.19亿美元的各种资产,主要包括投资基金和经纪账户,以及巴尔的摩的一些房地产。
chip somodeilla/Getty Images,FILE
在这张2012年5月22日的文件照片中,期货交易委员会主席加里·詹斯勒回答了问题
随着古普塔确认听证会的临近,她最近成为一些极右翼共和党人的攻击对象,指责她激进进步和反警察。
司法危机网络反对古普塔的确认,并发起了一场名为“危险的被任命者”的80万美元的广告活动,指责古普塔支持“解散警察”运动。
古普塔说,她从未支持过这样的政策,她身边聚集了多个警方倡导团体。警察兄弟会主席帕特里克·尤斯上个月致函司法委员会,表示支持古普塔的提名。
“她总是和我们一起寻找共同点,即使这看起来不可能,”约斯说。“尽管在某些情况下,我们的分歧仍然存在,但她开放坦诚的态度创造了一种基于相互尊重和理解的工作关系。”
一个独立的共和党领导的团体已经发起了一个100万美元的项目“确认古普塔”运动,突出了古普塔在缅因州、阿拉斯加州、西弗吉尼亚州和其他州的电视广告中的两党支持,这些州的参议员可能是她的确认的关键。
Biden's associate attorney general pick would be wealthiest member of administration
With assets worth tens of millions of dollars, associate attorney general nominee Vanita Gupta is thus far the Biden administration's wealthiest political nominee that has publicly released a financial disclosure form.
The disclosure of Gupta's financial interests comes as she faces a potentially rocky confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee in the coming week.
Gupta, a civil rights attorney-turned Justice Department nominee, has reported owning between $42 million and $187 million in assets and properties with her spouse in her disclosure report filed to the Office of Government Ethics. She reported earning between $902,000 and $3 million in the past year, the filing shows.
The biggest chunks of her assets come from her shares in companies linked to her father, Raj Gupta, a corporate chairman and Wall Street financier with vast corporate interests.
According to the filing, Vanita Gupta owns between $11 million and $55 million in shares of Avantor, a chemicals and materials company headquartered in Pennsylvania, for which Raj Gupta is thechairman of the board.
She also reported owning between $500,000 and $1 million in shares of Aptiv, an American-Irish-British auto parts company headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, for which Raj Gupta also serves aschairman.
According to the report, Gupta also owns between $950,000 and $2 million in entities connected to the private equity firm New Mountain Capital, for which her father has served as asenior adviser.Raj Gupta has also served on the board of the Vanguard Group, one of the biggest index fund companies, and Vanita Gupta owns between $11 million and $49 million worth of Vanguard index funds, which are commonly owned by other political appointees.
She holds much of those assets through family trusts she controls, except for $5 million to $25 million in Avantor, $500,000 to $1 million in Aptiv and six-figures in New Mountain Finance Co., which are under a brokerage account.
In her ethics agreement provided by the Biden transition team, Vanita Gupta wrote that she would retain her financial interests in those companies but would resign from her position as co-trustee of her family trust.
She would also not participate "personally or substantially" in matters related to companies in which she or her family hold a financial interest.
She also wrote that she would not participate in matters related to companies in which her father holds leadership roles, including Avantor and Aptiv.
A spokesperson for Biden's transition team, when questioned about Gupta's financial interests, referred ABC News to her ethics agreement. The Department of Justice did not immediately respond to ABC News' requests for comment.
Gupta's plan to recuse herself from matters involving the financial interests of her family and herself is typically required by conflict of interest laws, said Delaney Marsco, senior legal counsel of ethics at Washington-based good government group Campaign Legal Center.
Gary Gensler, Biden's pick to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission, is the second wealthiest Biden appointee to disclose their financial interests to this point. Gensler reported owning between $41 million and $119 million in various assets, comprised mostly of investment funds and brokerage accounts, along with some real estate properties in Baltimore.
With the approach of Gupta's confirmation hearing, she's recently been the subject of attacks from some far-right Republicans accusing her of being radically progressive and anti-police.
The Judicial Crisis Network has opposed Gupta's confirmation with an $800,000 ad campaign titled, "Dangerous Appointee," which accuses Gupta of supporting the "defund the police" movement.
Gupta, who says that she has never endorsed such policies, has had multiple police advocacy groups rally around her. Fraternal Order of Police President Patrick Yoes sent a letter to the Judiciary Committee last month expressing support for Gupta's nomination.
"She always worked with us to find common ground even when that seemed impossible," Yoes said. "Although in some instances our disagreements remain, her open and candid approach has created a working relationship that is grounded in mutual respect and understanding."
And a separate GOP-led group has launched a $1 million"Confirm Gupta" campaign,highlighting Gupta's bipartisan support in TV ads running in Maine, Alaska, West Virginia and other states whose senators could be key to her confirmation.