Marjorie Taylor Greene in Ethical Hot Waters After Failure To Disclose Profits From MAGA Book

Entering an ethically murky area, MAGA firebrand Marjorie Taylor Greene neglected to disclose income from the book she released towards the end of last year. The congresswoman's book, titled MTG, was released by Winning Team Publishing, a business started by Donald Trump Jr., Donald Trump's oldest son, and Sergio Gor, dubbed "the Mayor of Mar-a-Lago" by insiders, and it includes details of her time spent in Washington, per The Daily Beast. 

“Congresswoman Greene’s book agreement was reviewed and approved by the House Ethics Committee and in 2023 there was no financial activity that required reporting,” the Greene office stated in response to a request for comment on why there wasn't any income reported from the book sale. But Raw Story reports that would only be feasible, though, if Greene's book's royalties were less than $200.

Probably, Greene's memoir didn't generate enough revenue the previous year. Representatives are forced to rely on income from the sale of copies as they are not allowed to receive advances on royalties. Greene's book was released in late November and has only a few reviews on Amazon from before the new year.

Even then, experts in congressional ethics say they still wished for more transparency from the Representative. “Even if she hasn't received any royalty payments, my understanding is that she's required to report anticipated royalties in some way,” said Robert Maguire, vice president for research and ethics at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.

“Part of the problem here could be mixed messages from the Ethics officials in Congress,’” Maguire said. “But it seems pretty clear, just based on the rules, that any royalties, whether or not they've been received by the member, should be reported in some way on the financial disclosure.”

Greene's book made a lot of buzz last year, particularly because of the publication it was associated with. Books by right-wing leaders like Steve Bannon, Charlie Kirk, and even Donald Trump are promoted by Winning Team Publishing. For $999, Winning Team is offering a bundle that includes signed merchandise and Trump's coffee table book. Greene's book costs much less—$30 for the standard edition and $49.99 for the signed copy.

Greene is not the only lawmaker under scrutiny for not reporting book sales. It was also discovered that Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) had withheld information about her book royalties from the previous year. She responded by stating that she had been told there was no need for additional disclosure as she had not yet received payment. But Boebert's reasoning was questionable, and if Greene tried to use it, she would also run into trouble.

“Part of the problem here could be mixed messages from the Ethics officials in Congress," Maguire said. “But it seems pretty clear, just based on the rules, that any royalties, whether or not they've been received by the member, should be reported in some way on the financial disclosure.”