‘Squad’ member Jamaal Bowman hit with ethics complaint over TikTok use
Far-left Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) has flouted House ethics rules by making political statements on his congressional TikTok account and using official resources to make posts on his campaign TikTok account, according to a complaint filed Monday by a government watchdog.
The Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust argued in a letter to the Office of Congressional Ethics that Bowman, who represents the Bronx and Westchester, had crossed a line by recording TikTok videos from inside the US Capitol building and in his congressional office.
Bowman, 47, also shared a message calling for the impeachment of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas from his official account — another alleged ethics violation.
The accounts — @jamaalbowmanny and @repbowman — identify Bowman as the representative for New York’s 16th Congressional District, with the latter account racking up more than 200,000 followers.
“The laws and ethics rules prohibiting Members from using official resources for political purposes are clear and longstanding,” FACT executive director Kendra Arnold said in a statement.
“Not only do these ethics rules protect taxpayer funds, but they also protect the integrity of the government and maintain citizens’ trust.
“Anytime a Member does not comply with these laws it is troubling and should concern citizens. The OCE must move swiftly to investigate and enforce these bright-line standards and apply the requisite penalty.”
Bowman’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Federal law requires House members to strictly separate campaign and official activities and bars campaigning with the use of official resources — such as government buildings, websites and social media profiles.
“The laws at issue in this case protect taxpayer-funded resources from abuse and theft and strict enforcement addresses the public’s concerns that incumbents wrongfully use government funds to run for re-election,” FACT complained to chief House ethics counsel Omar Ashmawy.
In her group’s letter to OCE, Arnold also noted Bowman maintains a TikTok account despite US government concerns that the Chinese-owned social media company could be harvesting more than 100 million American users’ data.
The FBI and FCC have warned that Beijing-based ByteDance Ltd, which owns TikTok, could share US users’ biometric information, browsing history and location with the Chinese government.
The White House and House of Representatives have since demanded TikTok be removed from all official government devices over espionage concerns.
Arnold in her letter suggested that ethics investigators check whether Bowman has installed TikTok on any of his government devices.
More than 30 members of Congress — almost all of whom are Democrats — have TikTok accounts.
Some Democratic lawmakers like Bowman have also pushed back against federal bans of TikTok, along with many younger US adults.
Just 39% of Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 support such bans, according to a March CBS News/YouGov poll.
“Republicans ain’t got no swag,” Bowman said during a press conference last month outside the Capitol. “That’s why they want to ban TikTok. And I mention that in the context of engaging young people in the democratic process.”
He also referred to federal efforts to ban the app as “racist towards China.”
Bowman is the third House Democrat to be hit with an ethics complaint over the use of Tiktok, along with fellow “Squad” Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Rep. Wiley Nickel (D-NC).
