NY Congressman Nadler Staffer Appears to Violate Congressional Rules: Watchdog

Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) speaks during a House Judiciary Committee mark up hearing in the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington on June 2, 2022. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

A government oversight nonprofit claimed that Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) may have violated House ethics rules, a charge that Nadler’s campaign has denied.

Americans for Public Trust told Fox News that Nadler’s senior staffer, district director Robert Gottheim, performed “fiduciary services as an attorney” for the New York congressman for three years until 2021 while meeting the senior staff threshold.

Citing data from the Federal Election Commission (FEC), the Fox report pointed out that Gottheim was paid $81,345 between 2019 and 2021 by Nadler’s campaign for legal and strategy services. What’s more, he was also paid $940 from Gottheim’s leadership political action committee.

The House Committee on Ethics states on its website banning House lawmakers, officers, and senior staff from receiving compensation for certain activities.

“The restrictions prohibit senior staff from, among other things, (1) receiving compensation for practicing any profession that involves a fiduciary relationship, including, for example, law or accounting,” the committee says.

Additionally, a senior staff member “may not receive any compensation for either providing legal services to a political organization, or for serving as an officer (such as treasurer) of such an organization,” according to the committee.

Caitlin Sutherland, the executive director of Americans for Public Trust, criticized Nadler for failing to comply with House regulations.

“Jerry Nadler brags about being the ‘conscience of the House,’ yet he can’t even ensure that his top staffer is in compliance with simple House ethics rules,” Sutherland told Fox News. “It is absolutely against the law to be compensated for campaign work that involves fiduciary duties, and accordingly, we will look into filing a complaint with the Office of Congressional Ethics.”

According to Nadler’s congressional website, Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called Nadler a “gifted constitutional scholar and the conscience of the House” when she was House Minority Leader.

Nadler is currently the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.

A spokesperson for Nadler’s campaign denied wrongdoing, telling Fox News that Gottheim “doesn’t practice law in any capacity, including the campaign”

“He’s a campaign advisor, which doesn’t have any fiduciary responsibility,” the spokesperson said, according to the outlet. “When the campaign files the quarterly reports the treasurer must choose a category to list his expenditures, so they chose ‘legal & strategic advising.’ He’s a strategic advisor, not a lawyer.”

However, Gottheim’s bio page on the New York City West Side Democrats’ website says that he has been “Counsel for Nadler for Congress” since 1997, “handling all campaign finances & compliance issues w/ the FEC.”

The Epoch Times has reached out to Nadler’s office for comment.

Nadler is currently seeking the Democratic nomination to represent New York’s newly-redrawn 12th Congressional District, which covers the Upper East and Upper West sides.

Currently, Nadler is in the lead to win the primary election to be held on Aug. 23. According to the most recent poll by Emerson College Polling/PIX11/The Hill, Nadler was in the lead with 43 percent, ahead of Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) who received 24 percent of those surveyed.

The winner of the upcoming primary election will face GOP candidate Mike Zumbluskas in the Nov. 8 general election.