But his own party's candidate has late financial disclosures, too.
A formal complaint has been sent to the FBI's Las Vegas field office. It asks investigators to look into whether Teresa Benitez-Thompson, the Democratic candidate for Nevada's 2nd Congressional District, properly disclosed potential conflicts of interest while she served in the Nevada Legislature.
But here is the part you need to know before you decide what to make of it. The man who filed the complaint is Bruce Parks, the Washoe County Republican Party Chairman. He is going after the Democratic nominee in what should be a solid GOP seat.
And at the very same time, the Republican nominee in that race, David Flippo, has his own well documented financial disclosure problem.
What The Complaint Against Benitez-Thompson Says
The complaint, dated September 14, asks investigators to examine whether Benitez-Thompson disclosed conflicts tied to her legislative duties, her seat on the Mater Academy of Northern Nevada charter school board, and her paid job with the University of Nevada, Reno. Benitez-Thompson's tenure in the legislature ended in 2022.
She served on the Assembly Ways and Means Committee, the committee that controls the state budget, while also sitting on Mater Academy's board. In 2019 she was vice chair of that committee.
Records show she took part in board discussions about the school's finances, including asking in June 2017 when expected state funding would arrive. The complaint does not accuse her of a crime. It asks investigators to review the overlap.
Her campaign calls the complaint baseless and says it lacks evidence.
Now Look At Flippo
What's good for the goose is good for the gander. This is where the story gets interesting for conservatives who care about consistency, not just scoring points. David Flippo, the Trump endorsed Republican nominee in the same race, still has not filed the personal financial disclosure federal law requires of him.
That disclosure was due by May 15. There is no record he filed it, and no record he asked for an extension. He also never filed one during an earlier 2024 congressional run.
And this is not a one time slip. Flippo also never filed a personal financial disclosure back in 2024, when he ran unsuccessfully for Nevada's 4th Congressional District. Two federal campaigns, two missing disclosures.
This is not a small technicality. Flippo has personally loaned his own campaign more than $1.6 million. Without a financial disclosure, nobody can see where that money came from.
His campaign treasurer, Thomas Datwyler, told reporters that Flippo is in the process of closing one of his businesses to focus on serving the people of Northern Nevada, while he moves his other businesses, investments, and landholdings into a blind trust.
That is not a substitute for the disclosure the law requires.
The nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center has separately flagged Flippo among dozens of candidates nationwide who claimed large personal loans to their campaigns without the disclosures needed to verify where that money came from.
Separately, a fellow Republican candidate filed a federal complaint accusing Flippo of using campaign money to rent the house he lives in. Flippo has said the rent payments covered a campaign headquarters, not a personal home.
A Complaint That Skips The Process Built For This
Nevada already has a body whose entire job is conflict of interest questions involving state legislators: the Nevada Commission on Ethics.
It's slower, it's quieter, and it doesn't come with a federal law enforcement label attached to a candidate's name for the rest of the campaign.
Parks skipped it and went to the FBI instead, in a complaint that admits up front it isn't alleging a crime. A party chairman with a congressional race on his hands and a request that doesn't require proof to already do its damage.
Readers can draw their own conclusion about what that choice was designed to accomplish.
What Happens Next
The FBI has not said whether it will act on the complaint.
Meanwhile, federal law allows the Attorney General to seek civil penalties against candidates who fail to file required disclosures, and willful concealment can carry criminal penalties.
If you believe in accountability, hold both candidates to it. Ask Flippo directly when his disclosure will be filed. Ask whoever raises the Benitez-Thompson complaint why it skipped Nevada's own ethics process.
Support transparency before Election Day, not selectively after a press release goes out.
The opinions expressed by contributors are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Nevada News & Views. This article was written with the assistance of AI.
