ICYMI – Politico: The Attack [on Conley] That Won’t Go Away

ICYMI – Politico: The Attack [on Conley] That Won’t Go Away

New York’s 17th Congressional District – Today, Politico reported on Cait Conley’s attempt to delay her legally required Personal Financial Disclosure until after the June 23rd primary. Following outrage on social media and questions from several reporters, Conley quickly filed her disclosure, which showed a total combined salary and consulting income of $328,283.15 from defense contractors Hidden Level and Primer AI since January 1, 2025. This is a significant increase from the $80,500 reported in her previous disclosure, which covered the period of January 1, 2024 to July 14, 2025.

“Cait Conley’s disclosure is as concerning as it is revealing,” Davidson campaign manager Ellen McCormick responded. “She only filed this required document once she got caught by the press, which is no surprise given that she’s been paid over $325,000 by AI companies and defense contractors fueling Palantir and Trump’s ICE and DHS. And rather than quitting while ICE committed atrocities and killed Americans, Cait expanded her work for these companies.”

The full piece from Politico New York Playbook can be read here and is included below:

 

THE ATTACK THAT WON’T GO AWAY: In February, POLITICO Pro and The Intercept reported that Democratic candidate and Army vet Cait Conley worked for Hidden Level and Primer.AI, two firms that supported the Trump administration through the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Defense.

The news came as Democrats across the country were up in arms over ICE’s aggressive immigration enforcement tactics.

Conley said at the time that the attempts to link her to ICE and Palantir — which provides surveillance tech to the enforcement agency — were unfair, arguing her private sector work helps stop terror attacks in places like stadiums or city centers, and has nothing to do with ICE. She also went further, maligning reporters who wrote about the connection, sending out emails to supporters refuting any association with Palantir or ICE and spreading the same message on social media.

But since then, Conley’s opponents have gone into overdrive to make her work for the companies a political liability. Democratic Rockland County Legislator Beth Davidson has sent out mailers linking Conley to an image of an ICE raid, and Lawler has inserted her work for the firms into statements to the press and posts on social media.

A recent uproar over her brief decision to delay the disclosure of her financial disclosure form shows the attacks may be sticking around for the long haul. On Tuesday, the Hudson Valley’s hyperactive political Facebook groups erupted in controversy after Conley filed paperwork requesting an extension on the release of her financial disclosure form. The move let her wait until after the primary to disclose her income — and any additional work for the firms.

But following the online pushback — and probing questions from Substack reporters Timmy Facciola and David McKay Wilson — Conley abruptly reversed course Tuesday and filed the disclosure, which showed she netted roughly a combined $300,000 from the two firms since 2025. It also may have provided more fodder for her opponents looking to land a punch.

But as the once largely respectful congressional race turns increasingly nasty, the Army vet is slinging mud at one opponent the same way it’s been thrown at her.

“Beth Davidson is spreading lies to distract voters from the fact that her disclosure shows that she traded hundreds of thousands of dollars of stocks for drug companies, health insurance companies, and oil and gas companies, and still has thousands invested in Oracle, a company that has active contracts with DHS and ICE,” Conley’s campaign manager, Emily Goldson, told Playbook in a statement. “That’s exactly why we need to ban stock trading in Congress so career politicians like Beth can’t get rich off their public service.”

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