Posted on 12/19/2021 4:48:59 AM PST by Erik Latranyi
Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez pushed back against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's rejection of a ban on members of Congress from trading and holding individual stock while in office.
In a series of tweets on Friday evening, Ocasio-Cortez reiterated her prior opposition to members trading individual stock while in office, writing that the practice is inappropriate when members "write major policy and have access to sensitive information."
(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...
AOC goes after the Queen? And implicates others of the ruling class? Hope she realizes there isn’t a vaccine for a shiv.
Quite true. On the whole, one would prefer to be ruled by grifters instead of communists, but rule by grifters generates the disorder and discontent that can make communism seem appealing. Preferring Pelosi to AOC is like preferring to have untreatable cancer instead of a major, disabling stroke. No matter one’s preference in the abstract, the actual experience is always dismal.
Maybe they haven’t been sharing the good stock tips with her and she wants in.
Yes, the youth have been brainwashed to believe capitalism does not work and socialism/communism is more "fair" to the workers. They will be the first to support ending kleptocrats in favor of socialism.
“ That is why Bill could say “The era of big government is over” while selling out to China.”
That cannot be said enough or loud enough. Preach it, Brother! I can’t believe we have allowed this guy so much latitude.
It has to be pretty obvious if the AOC can figure it out.
.....elected members trading individual stock while in office, is inappropriate when members “write major policy and have access to sensitive information........”
Look at Bernie. He would not vote for Obamacare because it was not socialized medicine. They had to drag him into it.
That is a committed communist.
Biden will support oil/gas in Ukraine to enrich himself while talking about the need for fighting climate change.
That is a committed kleptocrat.
It is illegal for Congress members to trade based on non-public information gathered during their official duties.
Pelosi Defends Stock Investment by Members of Congress:
‘We’re a Free Market Economy’
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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband cashed in on Big Tech just as Congress was set to pounce
BY SOPHIE MELLOR, Fortune, July 8, 2021 8:26 AM EDT
The week before the House Judiciary Committee voted on reigning in big tech, Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband exercised a bullish bet on Google-parent Alphabet, in a timely transaction that netted him $5.3 million.
The antitrust bill was advanced as a push by the government to curb the “unregulated power” of big tech firms Google, Amazon, Apple and Facebook. It was the final part of a six-part package called “Ending Platform Monopolies Act” aimed at restricting how big tech companies offer their products to ensure they don’t use their size to dominate the market.
However, despite its good intentions, the market reaction to the judiciary panel approving the legislation was muted—shares in big tech companies in fact rose after investors found the House proposal to be no real threat.
Paul Pelosi, who bought 4,000 shares of Alphabet on June 18 (as revealed in a financial disclosure signed by Nancy Pelosi and filed on July 2), made an initial $4.8 million gain from Alphabet’s rising share price, and has since seen his gain grow to $5.3 million.
Paul bought the stock by exercising a call option, which allows investors to speculate on stocks they do not own by entering into a contract that allows them to buy a stock at a later date at a promised price. The upshot: a call option is a good tool for an investor who believes the stock price will go up in the future. In Pelosi’s case, the call options he’d previously bought for Alphabet (which were due to expire the day of his purchase) allowed him to buy it at $1,200 a share while the shares closed that day just over $2,500, a difference that accounted for his profit.
Paul Pelosi also reported buying call options for Amazon, Apple and NVIDIA, but he did not report exercising them.
Nancy Pelosi’s spokesperson said “The speaker has no involvement or prior knowledge of these transactions,” in an emailed statement on Wednesday, adding that Speaker Pelosi doesn’t own any stock.
Capitol gains
Great stock timing in DC isn’t exactly novel. Republican senators Richard Burr and Kelly Loeffler had inside knowledge of the impending COVID-19 crisis when they sold shares in January 2020.
Burr sold $1.7 million worth of stock holdings, while the former senator, Loeffler, wife of New York Stock Exchange chairman Jeffrey Sprecher and richest member of Congress at the time, unloaded up to $3.1 million worth of stock after getting closed-door briefings on the COVID-19 threat.
It is illegal for Congress members to trade based on non-public information gathered during their official duties, but it is hard to charge members of Congress with insider trading. Neither Burr not Loeffler faced any charges following inquiries.
But while it is hard to prosecute politicians over such stock sales, Twitter is less forgiving. ‘Nancy Pelosi Insider Trading’ began to trend on the social media service and people have called for her removal from office.
I think most if not all elected critters use their “inside” information to line their pockets and bankroll themselves- it the dishonorable and legal way to millions.
If it were a civil servant, a stock trader, a corporate officer etc., they all would be fired and prosecuted...
AOC doesn’t invest in the stock market. Her Marxist ideology accepts “gifts” instead.
Besides that it would prevent people who file a Financial Disclosure Form on a congresscritter with the Clerk of the Court from getting the best stock tips known to mankind.
AOC is a tyrant's handmaiden.
.....elected members trading individual stock while in office, is inappropriate when members “write major policy and have access to sensitive information........”
******************************‡**************
Cbsnews.com
circa 2011
pelosi and visa
As Steve Kroft reported on “60 Minutes,” Pelosi is one of many lawmakers whose stock market trades could have been seen as a conflict of interest. The former speaker and her husband have participated in at least eight IPOs, one of which was from Visa in 2008 - just as a troublesome piece of legislation that would have hurt credit card companies began making its way through the House. The Pelosis purchased 5,000 shares of Visa at the initial price of $44 dollars. Two days later it was trading at $64.
Now Newsweek and The Daily Beast report that this stock purchase was made as Visa was engaged in a full-court press to lobby Pelosi to stop legislation to curb credit-card swipe fees to vendors.
In 2007, Visa used an army of lobbyists to try to influence Pelosi, including one of her former advisers, Dean Aguillen, Newsweek reports. Aguillen left Pelosi’s office to work for the lobbying firm Ogilvy. By law, he could not lobby Pelosi’s office directly, but he did lobby Congress on the credit card issue and offered advice to other lobbyists on that particular mission.
In addition to exploiting the revolving door between Congress and lobbying firms, Visa’s political action committee made a $1,000 donation to Pelosi’s re-election campaign, Newsweek reports (Visa headquarters is in Pelosi’s home district). Two days after that donation was made, Pelosi met with Visa executives in her office. Aguillen also contributed $1,000 to Pelosi and another $1,000 to the campaign arm of the House Democratic caucusin the first half of 2008.
The former speaker maintains she wasn’t influenced by Visa’s lobbying efforts or her husband’s stock purchases. “I will hold my record in terms of fighting the credit card companies as speaker of the House or as a member of Congress up against anyone,” she told “60 Minutes.”
Indeed, the swipe fee legislation opposed by credit card companies eventually passed. Additionally, in 2008 — before the Pelosis’ stock transaction — the House passed the Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights over the objections of the industry.
Drew Hammill, a spokesman for Pelosi, said her husband Paul Pelosi’s finances are kept distinctly separate from the congresswoman’s legislative work, Newsweek reports.
Pelosi is far from the only example of a legislator about whom questions have been raised.
“We know that during the health care debate people were trading health care stocks,” Peter Schweizer, a fellow at the conservative Stanford think tank the Hoover Institution, told “60 Minutes.” “We know that during the financial crisis of 2008 they were getting out of the market before the rest of America really knew what was going on.”
With the new focus on congressional “insider trading,” legislation to stop it is gaining momentum. Democratic Reps. Louise Slaughter of New York and Tim Walz of Minnesota have introduced legislation to stop insider trading in Congress. But the bill, which has been introduced before, has never had more than 14 congressional sponsors.
Today, however, Sens. Scott Brown, R-Mass., and Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and said they will introduce the legislation in the Senate. Several other lawmakers are now saying they could support the measure, Roll Call reports, including Pelosi.
Watch the “60 Minutes” report at web site:
It’s hard to believe but AOC is certainly right about this issue! She may be right for the wrong reasons but her defense of her position makes perfect sense..
Broken clock correct twice a day…
If they don’t like it....Tell them to leave politics....cuz part of their work involves policies that create “insiders information”.
The only reason she’s opening her mouth is because it’s a moot issue for her....cuz she doesn’t play the market.
Paul Pelosi bought options in popular technology stocks. I see no evidence of insider trading.
Apple stock is up about three-fold since the pandemic hit the USA.
https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/AAPL/apple/stock-price-history
Apple stock is up 600-fold since I sold my shares. I would have about $2 million in Apple stock if I had not sold it.
https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/AAPL/apple/stock-price-history
It’s up 14-fold since 2010.
The $1400 stimulus checks I believe are just about the right amount for an iPhone.
Amazon has about doubled since the start of the pandemic in the USA:
https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/AMZN/amazon/stock-price-history
It’s up about 270-fold since 2001 and about 100-fold since 2006.
Meta Platforms [Facebook] is up about 15-fold since 2012 and slightly more than doubled during the pandemic.
https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/FB/meta-platforms/stock-price-history
Microsoft is up about 1000-fold since 1987, about 13-fold since 2010 and about 6-fold since 2017:
https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/MSFT/microsoft/stock-price-history
There are lots of rich people because a lot of people have bought stock in these leading companies.
Why did you allow such massive deficits, President Trump?
To revive the stock market.
Why are you spending like drunken sailors, Congressional Democrats?
To prop up the stock market.
Me, too!!
How about sweetheart deals with Netflix or publishing companies? AOCommie has done pretty well with the DC Laundry.
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