OPINION: This article contains commentary which may reflect the author’s opinion
In June, Paul Pelosi made extraordinary profits by selling large quantities of Visa and Apple stock and call options and investing millions of dollars in Nvidia Corporation.
A disclosure filed by Democrat House Speaker Nancy Pelosi with the House of Representatives on July 14 details three new stock and stock option trades made by her husband last month. A filing shows Paul Pelosi exercised 200 call options, or 20,000 shares, of Nvidia at a strike price of $100 and expiration date of June 17, 2022, worth $1 million to $5 million.
On the same day, her husband also sold 50 calls with a strike price of $100 for a value of $100,000 to $250,000. The term “call option” refers to a contract between a buyer and seller that allows the buyer to purchase a certain stock, bond, commodity, or other assets at a specific price before the expiration date of the contract.
In March, Pelosi’s husband purchased nearly $2.2 million worth of Tesla stock, sparking calls from the GOP to ban stock trading by members of Congress.
On Thursday, Pelosi was asked about her husband’s stock trading and said that he has never used insider information from her to decide on which stocks to buy or sell.
Of course, she laughed and smirked as she said it, basically saying, “of course he has.”
“‘Has your husband ever made a stock purchase or sale based on information he’s received from you?’ a reported asked the speaker in her weekly briefing,” the Daily Mail reported.
‘No,’ she scoffed. ‘Absolutely not.’ Pelosi then walked away from the podium.
Watch this.
Reporter: “Has your husband ever made a stock purchase or sale based on info received from you?”
Pelosi: “No, absolutely not.”
The Pelosi’s recently bought shares in Nvidia, $NVDA, worth millions.
Nancy Pelosi backs the CHIPS Plus bill, a $52B semiconductor bill. pic.twitter.com/uMNIRVxg44
— unusual_whales (@unusual_whales) July 21, 2022
On June 17 Paul Pelosi but 20,000 shares in semiconductor firm Nvidia, worth between $1 million and $5 million, ahead of a Senate vote on a bill that could inject $52 billion in the semiconductor manufacturing industry and give tax incentives for production.
Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley announced in January that he would introduce legislation to bar insider trading in Congress.
“Has your husband ever made a stock purchase based on info he received from you?
Pelosi: “No, absolutely not”
As a reminder, prior trades questioned by the public include:$TSLA right before Biden’s EV plan$MSFT right before $10B Gov. Contract$NVDA right before CHIPS act pic.twitter.com/XynhyyXnYB
— Nancy Pelosi Stock Tracker (@PelosiTracker_) July 21, 2022
Congressmen and their spouses would be banned from holding or trading individual stocks. Those members who are found to be in violation of the bill, the Banning Insider Trading in Congress Act, will have to return their profits.
Hawley stated at the time, “Year after year, politicians somehow manage to outperform the market, buying and selling millions in stocks of companies they’re supposed to be regulating.
Wall Street and Big Tech work hand-in-hand with elected officials to enrich each other at the expense of the country. Here’s something we can do: ban all members of Congress from trading stocks and force those who do to pay their proceeds back to the American people.
It’s time to stop turning a blind eye to Washington profiteering.”
“The Pelosis are one of the wealthiest couples in Congress and Paul Pelosi has been dubbed one of the most prolific stock traders of all time. The speaker’s office frequently notes that Nancy herself does not own any stock,” The Mail continued.
For months there has been broad bipartisan consensus behind banning individual stock trades for members and their spouses. Lawmakers in both parties have put forth a slew of bills since Pelosi first expressed a cool openness to such a ban in February, not one of which has made it to the floor.
On Wednesday Sen. Josh Hawley wrote a letter asking Democrats to hold a hearing on banning stock trading.
‘This issue of whether and how Members of Congress engage in various financial transactions deserves scrutiny by the Committee,’ Hawley wrote to Sen. Gary Peters, chair of the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee.
‘In 2020 Speaker Pelosi and her husband outperformed the S&P 500 by a whopping 14.3 percent,’ Hawley declared. An analysis of actively managed funds found that 90% didn’t beat the market.
Pelosi now supports a potential ban on congressmen & women trading stocks.
Pelosi rejected the idea multiple times in the past, despite criticism over the fact that her husband makes millions through the stock market.
In February she told reporters ‘It has to be government-wide. The judiciary has no reporting. The Supreme Court has no disclosure. It has no reporting of stock transactions, and it makes important decisions every day.’
The House Speaker’s net worth is estimated at $46,123,051, making her the 14th wealthiest member of Congress as of 2021.
The social investing app Iris has made it possible for users to track Paul Pelosi’s lucrative stock trades. Then, they will be alerted every time Paul makes a purchase so they can follow his lead.
In 2012, Congress passed the STOCK Act, which prohibited members from using ‘any nonpublic information derived from the individual’s position … or gained from performance of the individual’s duties, for personal benefit.’
Rather than once a year, lawmakers must report publicly every stock, bond, commodities future, and other security transaction within 45 days.
Senator Hawley’s Act would go much further and:
–Prohibit Members of Congress and their spouses from holding, acquiring, or selling stocks or equivalent economic interests during their tenure in elected office. Any holdings in diversified mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, or U.S. Treasury bonds are exempt from the prohibition.
Source: The Republic Brief