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Speaker Nancy Pelosi has resoundingly rejected the suggestion that members of Congress should be banned from owning stocks in the aftermath of a report that dozens of lawmakers and their staffers were in violation of reporting requirements specified by a law passed to prevent insider trading by government employees.
The Business Insider investigation found that 49 legislators, as well as staffers, neglected to report their trading activity as outlined in the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act of 2012 aka the STOCK Act, a law signed by then-President Barack Obama which passed the House with nearly unanimous support.
During a Wednesday press conference, Pelosi who is one of the wealthiest members of Congress was put on the spot over the report, responding that while she is aware of the law’s requirements, that any such ban is off the table because it is a “free market economy” that lawmakers had every right to participate in.
Listen to how quickly Pelosi said “No” to the question of wether Members of Congress and their spouses should be banned from owning stock.
Pelosi’s salary is $223,500
Her net worth is about $100 million.
You do the math. pic.twitter.com/ZpP6vNuQYf
— Benny (@bennyjohnson) December 15, 2021
“Madame Speaker, Insider just completed a five-month investigation finding that 49 members of Congress and 182 senior congressional staffers have violated the STOCK Act, the insider trading law, I’m wondering if you have any reaction to that?” the reporter asked. “And, secondly, should members of Congress have their spouses be banned from trading individual stocks while serving in Congress?”
Pelosi responded, “No, I don’t… no to the second one, any… we have a responsibility to report in the stock… on the stock but I don’t… I’m not familiar with that five-month review, but if people aren’t reporting, they should be.”
The reporter followed up, “Why shouldn’t they be banned?”
Pelosi replied, “Because this is a free market and people — we’re a free-market economy, they should be able to participate in that.”
Madame Speaker’s rejection of such an idea could be expected considering that her husband Paul Pelosi’s record at picking winning stocks has resulted in riches for the couple to the extent that retail traders are basing their own picks on his activity.
According to a recent report by Yahoo Finance, many are watching Pelosi’s picks very closely including the co-founder of Iris, an investing app that allows users to follow friends, professional investors, and influencers’ portfolios in real-time.
“We’ve been tracking their performance and every single stock she has bought in the last two years has gone up significantly,” said Christopher Josephs, the app’s co-founder.
“The reason why Speaker Pelosi became so popular was because every trade she was making inevitably turned out to be such a long-term winner,” Josephs added.
Paul Pelosi recently drew scrutiny over buying millions of dollars in tech stocks as, in the weeks before the House Judiciary Committee’s vote on antitrust legislation, Pelosi vehemently denied that she was aware of the investments.
Pelosi’s miraculous investing record had drawn so much attention that a popular Twitter account, “Nancy Pelosi Portfolio Tracker,” was suspended this month shortly after new CEO Parag Agrawal took the helm for the San Francisco-based tech giant.
The Nancy Pelosi Portfolio Tracker account has also been suspended. This account was known for exposing Pelosi’s unethical insider stock trading and financial investments activity. pic.twitter.com/vNK8cUkk2l
— Suburban Black Man 🇺🇸 (@goodblackdude) December 8, 2021
Twitter users reacted to Pelosi’s remarks.
The whole point is that insider trading by lawmakers undermines the free market. Just an incredibly stupid, self-serving comment by Pelosi. https://t.co/UdU4RyQsyu
— Christopher Ingraham (@_cingraham) December 16, 2021
It's not a free and transparent market when lawmakers can trade on inside, non-public information that can move stock prices. Pelosi is smart enough to know this, which means she's knowingly defending a wildly corrupt system. https://t.co/OU0PBNFAcL
— David Sirota (@davidsirota) December 15, 2021
Nope. Members of Congress trading stocks is a textbook conflict of interest and abuse of power—not the free market working as it should. @SpeakerPelosi is so wrong on this one. https://t.co/XdIMwxvOXx
— Danielle Brian (@daniellebrian) December 15, 2021
How could future lawmakers become as rich as Nancy Pelosi otherwise https://t.co/18wo0pNquq
— Ray Pride (@RayPride) December 15, 2021
And all of a sudden, Comrade Pelosi becomes a defender of free markets. https://t.co/sXrnOH1jko
— Marc J. Randazza (@marcorandazza) December 15, 2021
If she/husband wants to trade stocks (like options) she can get out of Congress by simply not running again. they are there to serve the us not make a 40 year career out of it. And like her make hundred million. Not free market when they trade options on inside info.
— Mike DeMatteo (@miked3323) December 15, 2021
Pelosi’s dismissiveness toward very legitimate concerns that Congress is benefitting from insider trading only serves to fortify the image that she is an elitist with a “let them eat cake” attitude.
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Chris Donaldson is an ordinary American who is concerned about rampant corruption as well as the ongoing attacks on our way of life by those who have contempt for our hard-earned freedoms. A Navy veteran, he has been a frequent contributor to conservative websites and resides in Florida.
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