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Arizona Rep. Mark Finchem didn't disclose nearly $2000 a month in pension benefits, as well as a $6,037 payment to one of his businesses from former President Donald Trump's reelection campaign in 2020, all in violation of state laws requiring elected officials to report their sources of income and all business ties.

Disclosures are critical to building trust in the democratic process and are one of the few ways the public has for evaluating politicians, said John Pelissero, a senior scholar in government ethics at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University.

"The public has a right to know where candidates are getting their money," he said. "When there is an absence of compliance, not only do you have a likely legal problem, but you have an ethical problem."

John Pelissero, senior scholar in government ethics, quoted by The Arizona Republic.