Young Made Secret Deals as Natural Resources Committee Chair, Failed To Report CA Land for Nearly 25 Years
Today the Alaska Dispatch News reported that the House’s longest serving Congressman, Rep. Don Young, hid details of his lucrative California land ownership and secret deals with oil and gas companies while serving as the chair and later as a senior member of the House Committee on Natural Resources.
In addition to failing to disclose ownership of the land for nearly 25 years, Young sold the land for up to $500,000 in 2015 but didn’t report the sale for 14 months.
This November, Young faces a tough reelection against Steve Lindbeck, who had a record-breaking first fundraising quarter raising three times as much as Young. Recent polling has found Young’s standing weakening and his unfavorability ratings at all-time lows.
ICYMI
U.S. Rep. Don Young’s ownership in his family’s farm, with gas leases, wasn’t disclosed for years [Excerpts]
Alaska Dispatch News
By Nathaniel Herz
August 29, 2016
U.S. Rep. Don Young failed for 25 years to disclose his inherited one-third interest in a family farm in California that netted him at least $250,000 when he sold it last year.
…In 1993 and in 2001, Young and several family members signed oil and gas leases for the property.
…Even after he belatedly disclosed his ownership in the farm in May, Young has never reported the 2001 lease to Kansas-based Slawson Exploration Co. Public records in Sutter County, California, show that Young signed it seven months after finishing a six-year stint as chair of the House Committee on Resources, which had oversight of legislation affecting oil and gas on public land.
…The 2001 lease, between Slawson Exploration, Young and five members of Young’s family, gave Slawson exclusive rights to look for oil and gas on the farm.
…Slawson is one of the biggest privately owned oil companies in the United States, and it helped pioneer development of the Bakken field in North Dakota. Its executives have donated tens of thousands of dollars to Republican candidates.
…Asked why Young’s signature had appeared on the 1993 oil and gas leases if he hadn’t inherited his share of the farm until 1995, Shuckerow said Young’s letter to the House clerk had “misidentified” the date of his inheritance and would be updated.
…And Young’s failure to report his ownership stake in the farm wasn’t his first omission from his own financial disclosures. In 2014, the House Ethics Committee said Young had broken congressional rules by failing to report nearly $60,000 in gifts between 2001 and 2013, including flights on private planes and hunting trips.
…California property records show the Youngs’ Meridian property was sold for $1.5 million in early 2015 by Young and four family members to Young’s relative Troy and Troy’s wife, Susan Young. Troy Young was among the farm’s original owners; he and Susan Young didn’t respond to a phone message last week.
Don Young’s most recent financial disclosure said his share of the farm was sold for between $250,001 and $500,000.