Sen. Richard Blumenthal's (D., Conn.)
Posted on 03/01/2022 4:38:01 AM PST by MarvinStinson
A watchdog group is calling for an ethics investigation into Sen. Richard Blumenthal's (D., Conn.) sale of shares of Robinhood, the brokerage company at the center of the "meme stock" speculation frenzy last year.
The Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT) on Monday requested that the Senate Select Committee on Ethics probe Blumenthal's sale of Robinhood shares worth up to $2.5 million. Blumenthal, one of the wealthiest members of the Senate, failed to disclose the trades within the 45 days required under federal law, the Washington Free Beacon reported.
"Blumenthal's stock trades raise conflict of interest concerns, and to make matters worse, Blumenthal failed to disclose his trades as required by the very laws intended to reveal conflicts of interest," Kendra Arnold, the executive director of FACT, wrote in a letter to Sens. Chris Coons (D., Del.) and James Lankford (R., Okla.), respectively the chairman and vice chairman of the Senate Ethics panel.
The ethics complaint comes amid heightened scrutiny into the financial dealings of members of Congress. A bipartisan group of lawmakers has introduced bills to prohibit members of Congress and their spouses from owning individual stocks. Blumenthal came out in favor of one such measure in the wake of the Free Beacon‘s report.
Blumenthal and his wife purchased a stake in Robinhood on Feb. 1, 2021, the same day Blumenthal joined a chorus of lawmakers in calling for investigations into a stock speculation craze that involved shares of GameStop. Robinhood was blamed for helping create a speculative bubble in GameStop shares through its online stock trading platform.
While Blumenthal initially urged an investigation, he did not conduct one himself, even though he was in a prime position to do so as chairman of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Protection. The subcommittee provides oversight for the Federal Trade Commission, which received hundreds of complaints about Robinhood.
Blumenthal has denied any wrongdoing and has said he was unaware of the trades because they were made through a trust controlled by his wife's family. Blumenthal has not addressed the delay in filing a financial disclosure on Dec. 8 for the sale of between $265,000 and $550,000 worth of Robinhood shares. Blumenthal disclosed the sale 56 days later, on Feb. 2. The STOCK Act requires members of Congress to disclose large financial transactions within 30 days. They are allowed 45 days for spouses' financial transactions.
"There is the ability for the senator to use non-public information for his personal profit, for instance timing when to buy and sell stocks," said Arnold. "On the other side of this, the senator may take or refrain from taking official action to benefit his personal investments, which of course leads to questioning the credibility of the Senate."
"Senator Blumenthal's stock trades and any failure to comply with federal law must be investigated and appropriate sanctions imposed," Arnold insisted.
criminals and their crimes against the American people
Sen. Richard Blumenthal's (D., Conn.)
Congressional Ethics:
“Faster horses. Younger women. Older Whisky. MORE MONEY.”
Connecticut deserves what they vote for. Blumenthal is a total fraud and a criminal. He will skate on this.
Blumenthal is one of the wealthiest members of the Senate, with a net worth over $100 million.
At Yale, Blumenthal was a classmate of Bill and Hillary Clinton. From 1970 to 1976,
Blumenthal announced his 2010 run for U.S. Senate after incumbent Senator Chris Dodd announced his retirement. He faced Linda McMahon, a professional wrestling magnate.
They are not sitting on their low salary asses in DC. They be entrepreneurs too! Like Elon Musk! Like Silicon Valley! How? By trading stocks on insider information that they come across every day in the House and Senate
Congressional staff getting rich too of insider info. Oh, yeah. When a fish swims in water it is going to drink some.
Just making a few dollars as anyone would do.
Human like the rest of us poor folks.
I hope they nail the creep!
What was he worth before entering politics?
Blumenthal received five draft deferments during the Vietnam War, first educational deferments, then deferments based on his occupation. In April 1970 Blumenthal enlisted in the United States Marine Corps Reserve which, The New York Times reported, “virtually guaranteed that he would not be sent to Vietnam”. He served in units in Washington, D.C., and Connecticut from 1970 to 1976,attaining the rank of sergeant.
During his 2010 Senate campaign, news report videos that showed Blumenthal claiming he had served in Vietnam created a controversy. Blumenthal denied having intentionally misled voters, but acknowledged having occasionally “misspoken” about his service record. He later apologized to voters for remarks about his military service which he said had not been “clear or precise”.
We would expect nothing less from our elected leaders and I use that term loosely while Ho Chi Dick is one of the worst. There should be no stock trading by any member of the legislature but they could invest in mutual funds where they have no control of the situation.
He is a Democrat therefore he is protected and untouchable, you silly little peasants.
In 2004, Blumenthal sued Computer Plus Center of East Hartford and its owner, Gina Kolb, on behalf of the state. It was alleged CPC overcharged $50 per computer, $500,000 in total, on a contract to supply computers to the state. Kolb was arrested in 2004 and charged with first-degree larceny.
Kolb later countersued, claiming the state had grossly abused its power. Kolb was initially awarded $18.3 million in damages, but Blumenthal appealed the decision and the damages initially awarded were reduced to $1.83 million.
I hope this takes care of one of the most disgusting senators on the planet.
$15k here, $15k there. Pretty soon you’re talking real money. $9,262,493
#1) Richard Blumenthal
#2) Adam Schiff
Honorable Mention, Chuck Schumer.
Blumenthal has said, "No reputable climate scientist disputes the reality of global warming. It is fact, plain and simple. Dithering will be disastrous.
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