Dornan Assailed for Failure to Disclose Income

Robert K. Dornan has failed twice since leaving Congress 18 months ago to file personal financial disclosure statements as a federal candidate, bringing charges from Democrats that he is trying to hide his financial activities.

The form, which Dornan filed regularly while in office, broadly outlines a person’s income, assets and liabilities and is required of anyone who raises or spends more than $5,000 to run for office.

Dornan, the Republican candidate for the 46th Congressional District, promised Thursday to file immediately. The form is due every May. He maintains that he was not obligated to file last year because he was not a candidate for office at the time.

The confusion over his status revives an issue Democrats raised last year.

The California Democratic Party filed a complaint late last year with the Federal Election Commission that “candidate” Dornan had accepted illegal corporate contributions in the form of free air time from radio stations to push his candidacy.

The complaint is still under consideration by the FEC, said spokesman Ian Stirton.

A spokesman for Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Garden Grove), who defeated Dornan by a narrow margin two years ago, called his failure to file the personal financial forms a willful omission.

“The public has a right to know what Dornan has been hiding for two years,” said spokesman Steve Jost. “He willfully hid his financial activity in 1997 from the voters.”

The penalty for late filing is $200, but a willful failure to file could incur a $10,000 penalty.

“Oh, my gosh,” said Dornan, when notified that he had failed to follow House rules. “The filing will be in within the week.”

Dornan said it would largely mirror the last one he filed two years ago, which showed no income from stocks and bonds, but it also will include about $15,000 in income he earned as a radio show host.

He said he didn’t file a financial statement last year because the money he raised and spent was used solely on trying to overturn his 1996 election loss.

Spokesmen for the House and the FEC would not say whether Dornan was required to file the personal financial disclosure forms last year. However, Dornan said the FEC told him he was not a candidate since he was raising money to cover expenses from the 1996 campaign and contested election fight.

Dornan “is free to talk to us about that,” said Ted Van Der Meid, chief of staff to the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct. However, Van Der Meid noted that the House itself had failed to notify Dornan or send him the required forms, as it does for almost all candidates.

House staff discovered “a few days ago” that Dornan had not filed. “The forms are in the mail to him now,” he said.

Separately, both Sanchez and Dornan released information about the value of the homes they and their spouses own. Sanchez’s financial disclosure statement also shows that she and her husband, Stephen Brixey III, have assets that likely exceed $1 million. House members also earn $137,000 a year in salary.

Sanchez and Brixey have at least $940,000 in investments, including mutual funds, IRAs and life insurance annuities. They own stock in such companies as General Motors Corp., Intel Corp., Airtouch Communications, PepsiCo and Immunex Corp.

The financial statements aren’t precise because the form calls for reporting assets in broad dollar ranges. Personal residences are exempt from reporting requirements.

The couple owns two houses. One in Santa Ana was purchased in January for $208,000 and carries a $166,400 mortgage. The other, in Palos Verdes Estates, was valued at $750,000 several years ago, Jost said, and carries a $100,000 mortgage.

Dornan’s most recent disclosure report was filed when he left office in January 1997. It shows no outside income or stock ownership and few other assets, but he has a pension of $82,200 a year from his 18 years in the House and his Air Force service.

He said that most of his assets are in his two homes. One in the Washington suburb of Fairfax Station, Va., was valued last year at $560,000, and another in Garden Grove was assessed at $160,000 last year. He said both carry loans of about 80% of the value.