For all the politicians that continue to amass personal wealth while ensuring that citizens are deflected elsewhere.
Yeah, we noticed.
Well, some of us anyway.
One thing that will always be bi-partisan - the ability to accumulate significant personal wealth while “serving” American citizens.
bob bersani retweeted
After Benny @bennyjohnson went digging on Illan Omar, I went digging a little bit on "the squad".
Rashida Tlaib is a broke ass mf'r btw.
However, Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) has some interesting things going on.
Her husband is pulling in $1M/yr from "government funded" sources.
So I dug through her congressional financial disclosures and used AI to break some things down.
Let's go.
THE NUMBERS:
* 2018 net worth: -$12,500 (per OpenSecrets)
* 2024 net worth: ~$8,000,000
That's an $8 MILLION increase in 6 years on a $174K congressional salary.
How'd that happen?
THE TIMELINE:
* Jan 3, 2019: Pressley sworn into Congress
* Jan 8, 2019: Her husband Conan Harris resigns from his $92,500/year Boston City Hall job
* Jan 15, 2019: He registers "Conan Harris & Associates" - a DEI consulting firm
* Wayback Machine confirms conanharrisassociates.com went live in 2019.
What a wild couple of weeks, eh?
THE CONSULTING GRIFT:
Per her financial disclosures, his firm's income:
* 2021: ~$300,000
* 2024: $100,001 - $1,000,000
That's a MILLION dollars a year from a consulting firm launched the week his wife entered Congress.
THE CLIENTS:
His client list reads like a government funding directory:
* City of Bridgeport, CT (municipal govt)
* City of Framingham (municipal govt)
* MassHousing (state housing finance agency)
* Meet Boston (tourism bureau, receives public funding)
* The Boston Foundation
* Justice Resource Institute (social services nonprofit)
* Obama Foundation
Pattern: DEI consulting for entities that either ARE government or depend heavily on government grants.
THE CONFLICT:
Pressley sits on:
* House Financial Services Committee (MassHousing = housing finance)
* House Oversight & Government Reform (government contracting)
Her husband's firm gets paid by government entities and nonprofits dependent on government funding - in policy areas her committees oversee.
THE ETHICS WARNING:
* The Boston Globe reported in Feb 2019 that before leaving City Hall, Harris used his government email to pitch staying on as a $50K/year consultant.
* State ethics laws bar using official resources for personal gain.
* An ethics expert warned they'd need to "be mindful to avoid any potential ethical and political pitfalls."
REAL ESTATE:
Her 2024 disclosure shows spouse-owned assets:
* Martha's Vineyard rental: $1,000,001 - $5,000,000
* Boston rental #1: $500,001 - $1,000,000
* Boston rental #2: $500,001 - $1,000,000
* Boston rental #3: $250,001 - $500,000
* Fort Lauderdale rental (sold 2024): $250,001 - $500,000
Total real estate: $8M
Remember, in 2019 they had ONE rental property and were underwater on it.
THE BACKGROUND:
* Before his city job and consulting gig, Conan Harris spent 10 years in federal prison for drug trafficking.
* He went from dealing drugs → city job (while his wife was on City Council) → million-dollar consulting firm the week she entered Congress.
BOTTOM LINE:
* Net worth in 2018: negative
* Net worth in 2024: $8 million
The day his wife became a Congresswoman, Conan Harris quit his city job and launched a consulting firm that now pulls up to seven figures annually from government-funded clients.
She sits on committees overseeing housing and government contracting. He consults for housing agencies and government-funded nonprofits.
The swamp doing swamp things.
Sources:
* Pressley 2024 Financial Disclosure (disclosures-clerk.house.gov, ID #10067354)
* OpenSecrets 2018 net worth estimate
* Boston Globe, Feb 16, 2019
* Wayback Machine archives
Three things that will change politics:
1.) all members of Congress receive same health care options as the citizens they represent.
2.) stock trading etc. eliminated for members of congress.
3.) significant campaign finance reform. No contributions from big pharma etc.
Hey Gavin - any comment? Fix your own backyard before you run for POTUS.
wcvb.com/article/close-to-ho… wcvb.com/article/close-to-ho…
You know what is sad? The wealthiest country in the word spends billions, sends billions to other countries yet we need organizations such as Wounded Warrior/Tunnel 2 Towers to help take care of our veterans.
Another sad reality is that we take better care of ILLEGAL immigrants.
I’m concerned. Has anyone seen the daily tweet from Senator Warren today? Missing my daily dose of bullshit….
Forget if you are a Democrat or Republican, this country has a serious and dangerous national security problem. Top secret documents being on unsecured laptops, documents found in homes etc. they all better fix this and fast.
It is so funny to watch our politicians tweet about support for rail worker sick gays after voting for a bill that didn’t include them. They all own it. Here come the sheep…..
Energy independence now! What are we waiting for? It’s crystal clear that this is key to our national security!!
Becoming energy independent is a matter of national security. Getting energy from Iran or Venezuela doesn’t solve the problem. It kicks the can down the road
Pelosi is embarrassing herself on “This Week”, explaining inflation. It’s because people have jobs and the supply chain issues.
