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Nancy Pelosi DEFENDS members of Congress trading stocks after report said 49 have violated conflict of interest law and with her husband Paul buying thousands of shares

  House Speaker   Nancy Pelosi   continues to face blowback for her comments defending lawmakers who trade in stocks even while having acces...

 House Speaker Nancy Pelosi continues to face blowback for her comments defending lawmakers who trade in stocks even while having access to potentially market-moving information.  

'We are a free-market economy. They should be able to participate in that,' Pelosi responded Wednesday when asked whether Members of Congress and their spouses should be banned from trading individual stocks.

She was responding to questions about a Business Insider report on dozens of lawmakers who have failed to meet requirements of the STOCK Act by failing turn in timely reports on their asset sales and purchases.

Some of those lawmakers held back information on trades in pharmaceutical stocks even as the nation battles the pandemic and Congress pushes out trillions in relief. Others did not file reports on time for sales and purchases of bitcoin or stocks in defense contractors. 

It all leads to a situation that Walter Shaub, the former top White House ethics officer in the Obama administration, blasted as leading to an array of potential conflicts.

'We are a free-market economy. They should be able to participate in that,' Pelosi said when asked whether lawmakers should be able to trade in individual stocks

'We are a free-market economy. They should be able to participate in that,' Pelosi said when asked whether lawmakers should be able to trade in individual stocks

Pelosi defends members of congress trading individual stocks
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'In reality, it's not exactly a free market when she has inside access to information from government experts that isn't public, that can affect influence their trading activity that the public doesn't have access to,' he told CNN's The Lead on Thursday. 

'It's not exactly free when we're locked outside of the kind of information that members of Congress get all the time,' he said. Shaub added: 'This isn't a right, left or center issue. This is a right and wrong issue and it's objectively clear that Nancy Pelosi is wrong.'

Pelosi herself has benefitted from the free market transactions undertaken by her husband, Paul, a wealthy investor.

He bought 4,000 shares of Google parent Alphabet in June, with an initial gain of $4.8 million, after previously purchasing a call option allowing him to buy the stocks at a set price in the future, as Fortune reported at the time.

The trade was disclosed in accordance with the STOCK Act, which does not ban such transactions, but does require lawmakers reveal the information.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) was late in reporting an investment of up to $50,000 by her husband, Richard Blum, in a polling company

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) was late in reporting an investment of up to $50,000 by her husband, Richard Blum, in a polling company

Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) was late in reporting transactions worth up to $3.5 million

Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) was late in reporting transactions worth up to $3.5 million

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) was more than a year late in reporting trades in a company that makes antiviral COVID-19 treatment

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) was more than a year late in reporting trades in a company that makes antiviral COVID-19 treatment

'In reality, it's not exactly a free market when she has inside access to information from government experts that isn't public,' said former chief White House ethics officer Walter Shaub, blasting Pelosi's comment

'In reality, it's not exactly a free market when she has inside access to information from government experts that isn't public,' said former chief White House ethics officer Walter Shaub, blasting Pelosi's comment

Rep. Katherine Clarke (D-Mass.), a member of Pelosi's leadership team, was late in disclosing $285,000 in transactions by her husband

Rep. Katherine Clarke (D-Mass.), a member of Pelosi's leadership team, was late in disclosing $285,000 in transactions by her husband

Paul Pelosi (l) bought 4,000 shares of Google parent Alphabet in June, with an initial gain of $4.8 million

Paul Pelosi (l) bought 4,000 shares of Google parent Alphabet in June, with an initial gain of $4.8 million

The Insider report that prompted the question to Pelosi revealed that 49 lawmakers have failed to keep up with their reporting requirements.

Among them was Rep. Katherine Clarke (D-Mass.), a member of Pelosi's leadership team, who was late in disclosing $285,000 in transactions by her husband, according to the report.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) was more than a year late in reporting trades in a company that makes antiviral COVID-19 treatment.

Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) was late in reporting transactions worth up to $3.5 million. This included a stock option in Chinese firm Alibaba Group Holding Limited. He also traded in Regeneron, which has a covid-fighting drug, Johnson & Johnson, and 3M, which makes personal protective equipment. 


Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-N.J.) failed to report trades worth up to $2.8 million in what he said was an oversight. One involved shares in a company that makes covid tests in March of 2020, as the first wave of the pandemic was peaking in the U.S.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) was late in reporting an investment of up to $50,000 by her husband, Richard Blum, in a polling company. 

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