Bessent's Second Divestment Stumble: $100K JPMorgan Stock Lapse

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent failed to disclose at least $100,000 worth of JPMorgan Chase stock owned by his husband John Freeman. The oversight was discovered in July 2025 and stemmed from a misclassification on Bessent's initial financial disclosure form.

Bessent had reported the JPMorgan holding as cash sitting in a bank account, rather than as shares in the bank itself. This mistake led to a $200 late filing fee after Freeman sold the stock on July 14, 2025. The sale was not reported within the required window.

Outside counsel had overseen $800 million worth of Bessent's divestments and inadvertently misclassified the JPMorgan holding as a bank deposit rather than an equity position.