One Week Since Bombshell Exposé, Maryland Leaders Call On Larry Hogan to Answer for Mounting Conflicts of Interest

Hogan’s listed clients received ~40% of competitive housing awards, beating out 60+ other companies

On Thursday, Senator Chris Van Hollen, Rep. Jamie Raskin, State Senator Cheryl Kagan, and State Senator Jeff Waldstreicher held a press call urging Republican Larry Hogan to answer for his mounting conflicts of interest. As reported one week ago by Time Magazine, six of Hogan’s real estate firm’s listed clients won nearly 40% of housing awards during his eight years as governor, beating out 60+ other companies. Hogan met regularly with his firm’s leadership during this time and had the final say on which companies received housing awards.

WATCH A RECORDING OF TODAY’S VIDEO CALL HERE

“No elected official should make money off of decisions they oversee, or in Larry Hogan’s case, decisions that they personally approved,” said Senator Chris Van Hollen. “Time Magazine estimates that Larry Hogan approved sending $90 million in state housing awards to his own clients. He also voted at least five times to send additional taxpayer dollars to clients. All the while, then-Governor Hogan was also holding regular meetings with his company’s leadership. These are not allegations. They’re clearly facts, and Larry Hogan should tell the American people and the people of Maryland exactly what happened.”

“This is fundamentally a question about public integrity,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin. “Are we going to have government which is an instrument of the public interest and the common good for everyone, or as in the case of Donald Trump and Larry Hogan, are we going to have government which is an instrument for private self-enrichment for the guy who gets in and his family?”

“This is not a partisan issue, nor should it be,” said State Senator Cheryl Kagan. “We need accountability. We need an explanation for what’s happened in the past, and we need to know what Larry Hogan’s plan is for his personal dealings and his financial management and money-making sources if Marylanders were to send him to the U.S. Senate.”

“Hogan needs to answer for what to me appear to be clear conflicts of interest,” said State Senator Jeff Waldstreicher. “One, why didn’t Larry Hogan recuse himself from votes that involved clients that had a financial relationship with his company? Two, will Larry Hogan recuse himself from any votes and funding requests in the U.S. Senate that would be conflicts of interest? And three, will Larry Hogan fully divest himself from his company to prevent further conflicts of interest?”

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