The husband of Democrat House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Paul Pelosi, bought more than $1 million worth of stock in a computer chip company only weeks before a potential vote in Congress that would provide a massive subsidy to the industry. Mr. Pelosi bought between $1 million and $5 million worth of stock in Nvidia, which is a semiconductor company, according to a disclosure file filed by Pelosi’s office. He exercised 200 call options, or 20,000 shares, the disclosure shows.
Reuters has been reporting that the Senate could vote on a bill containing billions of dollars in subsidies for the semiconductor industry as early as July 19th. The bill would potentially send up to $52 billion in chip subsidies as well as tax credits in an effort to increase the industry’s competitiveness with China.
Congress aims to pass the bill and send it to the desk of President Biden before they leave for their August recess.
Craig Holman, Capitol Hill lobbyist for Public Citizen, a left-leaning think tank, recently stated to The Daily Caller News Foundation that the disclosure was concerning. “It certainly raises the specter that Paul Pelosi could have access to some insider legislative information,” Holman said. “This is the reason why there is a stock trading app that exclusively monitors Paul’s trading activity and then its followers do likewise.”
The disclosure also reveals that Pelosi sold some shares of Apple and Visa.
Nancy Pelosi’s office responded to the questions about the controversial deals involving her husband’s stock purchase ahead of Congress’ vote on the semiconductor industry.
“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,” Nancy Pelosi’s spokesman, Drew Hammill, said in a statement to FOX Business.
With respect to various proposals to ban trade by members of Congress, Hammill stated, “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,” adding that FOX Business “should check with the committee on their latest.”
“The Speaker believes that sunlight is the best disinfectant. 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,” Hammill stated.
“To be clear, 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,” he added. “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. ”
On July 18th, Rep. Jamie Comer (R-KY-01) criticized Paul Pelosi over his multi-million dollar purchase of computer chip stock.
Nancy Pelosi was criticized for the actions of her husband and accused of inside trading.