Zach EversonNew: "Lawmakers Traded Up To $1.3 Million In Tesla Stock After Musk Endorsed Trump"
me, for @Forbes
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Some insights--
📈 Trading wasn't clearly along partisan lines
📈 Broadly speaking, lawmakers don't seem to have profited from their trades
📈 Spokespeople for all four offices that responded to inquiries said the trades were made by financial advisers without the lawmakers’ knowledge
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Using financial advisers doesn’t eliminate ethical concerns, Delaney Marsco of @campaignlegal.org said.
“It requires a lot of imagination to say, ‘We're going to trust you to run the country, but you can't be trusted to know what stocks you own,’” she said.
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At least two bills have been introduced this Congress to ban members and their spouses from trading stocks and other financial instruments.
They are both in committee. Similar efforts in the past have led to zilch.
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Check out article—free! no paywall!—for more, including:
💥 MTG possibly committing an ethics violation
💥 Trump owns Tesla stock
💥 The Democrat who, whoops, bought stock in Trump Media
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6/6
You know what?
I have more to say about this.
7/More than 6
So where were we?
Oh yes.
To recap: Ten members have Congress have traded Tesla stock a combined 38 times, totaling somewhere between $340,000 and $1.27 million, since Musk endorse Trump.
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The most prolific trader was Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., who bought Tesla stock 11 times while making three sales, all between $1,000 and $15,000.
His spox said the trades were made via an outside advisor.
An ethics watchdog was not impressed.
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Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., has been the second most-prolific trader of Tesla since Musk backed Trump.
She made nine purchases totaling between $9,000 and $135,000, according to disclosures she filed with the House Clerk’s Office.
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MTG's Tesla trades highlight some of the bigger concerns about lawmakers trading stocks.
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MTG chairs the House's DOGE subcommittee.
In that capacity, she wrote to the DOJ and FBI, asking them to prioritize investigations into "targeted attacks" on Tesla.
A company in which she owns shares.
And whose ability to sell cars unimpeded by protests benefits her financially.💰
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The House's independent ethics office could investigate MTG's actions.
Only it can't launch investigations now.
Because Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., hasn't appointed anyone to it board.
Dems have named their members. And two Republicans are ready to return.
And yet...
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To be clear--
***Not citing this info as evidence of any kind of conspiracy.***
It's just an example of what happens when Congress has a gross indifference to enforcing its ethics code. Or even trying to maintain the appearance of ethical behavior.
15/15 (probably)
Wendroid 🇺🇦@z_everson @Forbes Maybe I’m naive, but I remember a time when people lost their jobs, and went to prison for this. We really have fallen.
Joe Cotellese“Become a member of Congress! Perks include free, healthcare, and an opportunity for insider trading!”
Ponygirl@z_everson @Forbes Corruption for all!!