Ex-Rep. Hansen’s Wife Target of U.S. Suit
The Justice Department on Friday sued the wife of former Rep. George Hansen (R-Ida.), accusing her of failing to file financial disclosure forms when she worked for the government and when she ran for Congress.
The lawsuit against Connie Hansen--whose husband served 11 months in prison for his 1984 conviction on four counts of falsifying financial disclosure statements to Congress--came after the Justice Department said it made unsuccessful attempts to persuade her to file the forms.
She was accused of violating the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 on three occasions--in January, 1985, when she became a consultant for the Housing and Urban Development Department, in February, 1986, when she left HUD, and in 1986, when she ran unsuccessfully in a Republican primary for her husband’s former seat in Congress.
The suit filed in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va., seeks to require Hansen to file the financial disclosure forms, to enjoin her from violating the law in the future and to assess her a $15,000 civil penalty.
Hansen said earlier this week that despite a warning letter from the Justice Department, his wife did not plan to file the forms.
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