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I know nothing! Pelosi’s office issues statement on hubby’s stock trade, but leaves out critical detail

July 18, 2022 | | Print Article

After husband Paul Pelosi’s purchase of 20,000 shares of stock in one of the world’s largest semiconductor companies just ahead of a Congressional vote on a bill that would send billions to domestic semiconductor manufacturers, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office was once again forced to issue a statement explaining that it’s all totally legit and not at all an example of insider trading.

As American Wire reported, the speaker’s Thursday disclosure report revealed that, on June 17, Paul Pelosi purchased between $1 and $5 million worth of Nvidia stock. Coincidentally, senators are convening as early as this Tuesday to vote on a “bipartisan competition bill” which would set aside a whopping $52 billion “to boost domestic semiconductor manufacturing.” The bill would also provide manufacturers with tax credits for production.

The America COMPETES Act passed the House back in February, and in June, chip companies — including Nvidia– demanded that Congress move to finalize the subsidies.

The timing raised more than a few eyebrows.

“It certainly raises the specter that Paul Pelosi could have access to some insider legislative information,” said government affairs lobbyist Craig Holman of the transaction. “This is the reason why there is a stock trading app that exclusively monitors Paul’s trading activity and then its followers do likewise.”

Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) called the “optics” of the disclosure “horrible.”

“Obviously Speaker Pelosi would be aware of the timing of this legislation over in the Senate,” he said. “On the heels of that vote, for anyone in her orbit to purchase seven-figures worth of stock on a U.S.-based chip manufacturer just reeks of impropriety.”

In a statement to Fox Business, Speaker Pelosi’s spokesman, Drew Hammill, said, “The Speaker does not own any stocks. As you can see from the required disclosures, with which the Speaker fully cooperates, these transactions are marked ‘SP’ for Spouse. The Speaker has no prior knowledge or subsequent involvement in any transactions.”

Of course, that really doesn’t answer the question of whether or not Nancy gave her husband information that informed his transaction, it only says she doesn’t own them — a matter of semantics at best, assuming the married couple shares the stuff profits from such a perfectly-timed transaction could buy.

With respect to proposed legislation that would prohibit members of Congress from trading, Hammill stated that “there are at least three proposals introduced in the House in this regard and the Speaker has asked the Committee on House Administration to review these proposals” before urging Fox Business to “check with the committee on their latest.”

“The Speaker believes that sunlight is the best disinfectant,” the spokesman said. “The Speaker has asked Committee on House Administration Chair Zoe Lofgren to examine the issue of Members’ unacceptable noncompliance with the reporting requirements in the STOCK Act, including the possibility of stiffening penalties.”

“To be clear,” added Hammill, “insider trading is already a serious federal criminal and civil violation and the Speaker strongly supports robust enforcement of the relevant statutes by the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Speaker led the House in passing the bipartisan Courthouse Ethics and Transparency Act, which would subject federal judges to similar disclosure requirements as those in the STOCK Act. President Biden signed this bill into law in May.”

Appearing on “Fox & Friends” on Monday, Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) called Speaker Pelosi “the ultimate insider” and reminded viewers that Paul Pelosi made similar well-timed stock purchases in the past, specifically, just prior to Capitol Hill’s Big Tech hearings.

“Nancy Pelosi is the ultimate insider,” he stated. “Not only is her husband buying stock options on a much higher level than the average member of Congress — The average member of Congress may buy $5,000 or $6,000 of stock. He’s buying $500,000 worth of stock. He’s buying stock options which expire. To be able to trade stock options profitably, you have to know exactly which direction that stock’s going to move, and you can make a huge profit.”

“This is wrong,” he said. “This is another example of the media turning a blind eye to Nancy Pelosi’s bad behavior and unethical behavior.”

Melissa Fine
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