Maryland, My Maryland

Rep. David Trone’s (D-MD) PG
County Executive Angela Alsobrooks

At the Free Bacon, David Trone's Financial Disclosures Don't Add Up. Experts Say That Could Land Him in Legal Trouble.

It’s unclear how much Rep. David Trone’s stake in Indiana Fine Wine & Spirits is worth, but it’s enough that the Maryland Democrat pledged it as collateral for a loan worth up to $25 million in August 2020.

But you wouldn’t know that from Trone’s financial disclosures. In both 2020 and 2022, Trone didn’t even mention the Indiana wine franchise—an extension of his Total Wine empire he launched with his brother in 2019—omissions that imply his stake in the business those years was worth $0.

For more than a decade, the Maryland Democrat has pledged at least 20 offshoots of his $2.4 billion Total Wine empire as collateral for the loan, which PNC Bank first disbursed in 2008. But a Washington Free Beacon review found that for years after launching his first campaign for Congress in 2016 and winning his first term in 2018, Trone didn’t disclose his ownership in at least eight of those offshoots in his financial disclosures to the public.

Experts say Trone’s apparent failure to disclose all his assets could land the Democrat in legal trouble.

"Our democracy depends on the trust of the people in our elected officials," said Tom Anderson, the president of Last Government Watchdog. "Congressman Trone appears to have violated that trust."

By "failing to take seriously the disclosure of all assets and liabilities," Trone is "opening the door to serious penalties of up to five years in prison and/or up to a $50,000 fine if he is found to be criminally avoiding disclosure," Anderson told the Free Beacon.

Trone, the favorite to challenge former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R.) for Maryland’s open Senate seat in November, has made no secret of his wealth. The congressman signaled he would be willing to spend $50 million of his own money on his Senate campaign before entering the race in May 2023 and has since spent a record-breaking $41 million leading up to the primary.

In a primary debate on Apr. 19, Trone boasted that he was "the largest donor to Democrats in the last three cycles," and that his donations help "drive our Democratic Party. Not only in the House but also in the Senate."

Trone has Total Wine to thank for providing him with the revenue necessary to finance his political career. He’s raked in at least $120 million in distributions from Total Wine since 2018, and in 2022 he reported owning interest in 21 of the chain’s affiliates with a combined stake of no more than $80 million.

Taking Trone’s disclosures at face value, it appears he has already poured a significant chunk of his net worth into his Senate campaign. But the figures in Trone’s financial disclosures pale in comparison to Total Wine’s $2.4 billion valuation as estimated by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The liquor behemoth is exclusively owned by the Trone family, with at least 71 state and local affiliates, each of which operate anywhere from one to several dozen storefronts. The company raked in $5.5 billion in revenue in 2022, doubling its haul from 2017.

I'm sure if he's done anything wrong, the Biden administration's DOJ will be right on it. /sarc 

I will say this; he's pouring a ton of money into TV ads currently.