Rep. Tom Suozzi, who is running for the Democratic nomination for governor, has lambasted Gov. Kathy Hochul for her use of state helicopters, as well as her decision to appoint an allegedly ethically challenged official to be her lieutenant governor.

But the Long Island Democrat has recently run into a scandal of his own, with the House Ethics Committee weighing a probe into his delayed reporting of periodic stock transactions.

"The Committee will announce its course of action in this matter on or before Friday, July 29, 2022," the panel said in its announcement.

When asked by Capital Tonight if he would commit to releasing his tax returns as Hochul did earlier today, Suozzi said he would, adding that just today, he received a letter from JCOPE stating he needs to submit a financial disclosure form by Monday or Tuesday.

“Which I will do,” he said. “But it’s absurd that they’re just notifying us now.”

Capital Tonight also asked him to discuss his possible violation of the STOCK Act.

“I’ve been in public life for 30 years; I’ve never been associated with any kind of scandal. This thing that you’re talking about is a ministerial thing. I filed my annual disclosures of all my stock transactions. I didn’t do the periodic reports,” Suozzi explained.

When asked why, he said his accounts are handled by a broker who has “complete discretion,” and that the House Ethics committee had consistently told him that his annual disclosures were sufficient.

“It wasn’t until the middle of last year that they (the House Ethics committee) said you’re supposed to be doing periodic transaction reports as well,” Suozzi said. “We are doing them now. I don’t think it’s going to be a big deal.”

Just as Suozzi himself relied on a broker and an accountant to comply with new congressional rules, it was pointed out to him that Hochul relied on a third party to vet Brian Benjamin.

Capital Tonight asked if Suozzi was angry with those he relied upon to ensure he was in compliance.

“These things happen. It’s not a big deal and I’m not angry at all,” Suozzi said. “In this case, with the governor…when Brian Benjamin was announced, we all went on Google. You went on Google. Everyone went on Google, and you looked him up and you saw all these stories."

Suozzi said next week, he will be presenting a “full blown” ethics plan.

“I think we should be following a lot of the federal rules regarding fundraising. Instead of collecting $22,600 for the primary (election) and $45,000 for the general (election), every elected official in New York state at the state level should only be able to collect $2,900 per person,” he said.

Suozzi’s plan would prevent corporations and LLCs from donating.

“It should only be from individuals,” he said. “It shouldn’t be from individuals who do business with the state.”