(TheRedWire.com) – There’s nothing wrong with investing money. In fact, it’s encouraged. However, some people may have an advantage of inside information, giving them a greater likelihood of making windfall amounts on their investments. That practice is both unethical and, in some cases, illegal. So has Paul Pelosi, a routine investor, skirted fine lines based on knowledge he may have obtained from his wife, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)? Take a closer look with us, and see what you think.
Coincidence?
Paul Pelosi took in $5.3 million in June from trading in call options for Google’s parent company, Alphabet Inc., according to Bloomberg News. He speculated on the stock options approximately a week before antitrust bills were introduced in the US House. These antitrust bills also just so happen to affect other tech companies Pelosi bought call options for, like Amazon and Apple.
At face value, one might say he got lucky. However, looking historically, there seem to be a few to many occurrences where Mr. Pelosi has been “lucky” regarding the timing of House Judiciary Committee votes.
Conflict of Interest?
At one time, using Congressional inside information to profit from business transactions was so common that it required legislation to curtail the unethical practice. The Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act (STOCK Act) of 2012 prohibited Congressional members from using inside information to profit from stock trades, making the practice illegal and requiring members to disclose stock trades.
Speaker Pelosi has disclosed all her husband’s stock trades. Even so, the Pelosis have made conspicuously large amounts of money from trades on stocks ranging from Tesla to Google just before major legislation or policy changes have been announced.
The Speaker has also taken a firm stance against big tech companies in the past and has challenged their aspirations of market monopoly and power. Despite that, Mr. Pelosi routinely dumps money into these companies in the form of stock purchases, further fueling their grip on society. It seems like a thinly veiled form of hypocrisy, which the House Majority Leader has elevated to an art form. Does Speaker Pelosi truly wish to limit big tech companies, or would she and her husband Paul rather profit from them?
Conclusion
Of course, when asked for a statement, the Speaker’s spokesperson, Drew Hammill, said Nancy Pelosi doesn’t hold any stock. He added she was not involved in and didn’t have prior knowledge of Paul’s business transactions.
As of now, no evidence indicates Paul Pelosi used insider knowledge to make his trades, but he is stacking up quite a record of profitable transactions with companies occurring weeks before major Congressional legislation and policy moves that might affect them. Maybe it’s all serendipity?
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