On ABC’s This Week in South Florida with Michael Putney Carlos Curbelo was dogged – right off the bat – by the same questions that have dragged down his campaign for weeks: who are the clients of his lobbying firm, and why is he refusing to disclose his potential conflicts of interest with his work on the School Board:
- Putney: “So who are the clients of Capitol Gains?”
- Putney: “Your campaign has described you as a principal of the company. You have in the past referred to yourself as the President. What is your role with Capitol Gains?”
- Putney: “Why didn’t you return Capitol Gains to the same status as before when you listed yourself as the President, not your wife? Your wife doesn’t really work at the firm?”
“First Carlos Curbelo funneled millions of tax dollars in school board contracts to his political donors, and now Curbelo refuses to reveal if his lobbying clients are corrupting his work on the School Board,” said David Bergstein of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “Curbelo’s scandal has dragged him down for weeks because he won’t answer one simple question: who are your lobbying clients? Instead Curbelo is putting his political ambitions and the interests of his paying clients first – which is exactly why South Floridians can’t trust Curbelo in Congress.”
The Miami Herald revealed federal documents contradict Curbelo’s claims about his lobbying company. Curbelo’s Republican primary opponents and local political commentators have criticized him for refusing to disclose his clients – and after Curbelo stated that “if anyone has a complaint they should file it,” the Florida Democratic Party requested a federal investigation into Curbelo for his failure to disclose his firm’s clients.
Previously, the Miami New Times reported that Curbelo “has a history of approving contracts for campaign donors” on the School Board.