by Nicholas Bailey at Just the News
The long history of eyebrow-raising stock purchases by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband is drawing renewed scrutiny following Paul Pelosi’s latest transaction, which occurred right before House Democrats rolled out a bill banning legislators and their immediate family members from trading individual stocks.
Speaker Pelosi was first elected to office in 1987 and is currently serving her 18th term in the House. Nearly 36 years after coming to Congress, Pelosi tasked the House Administration Committee to draft a stock ban bill, but a vote on the bill was delayed before the House left for recess. Pelosi is serving her fourth term as House speaker.
The speaker’s latest financial disclosure form showed that her husband exercised call options on at least $1 million-$5 million of stock in Google parent company Alphabet on Sept. 16, shortly before House Democratic leaders formally unveiled legislation that would ban lawmakers and their immediate family members from purchasing individual stocks.
Several different stock ban bills had already been proposed in the House. The House Democratic leadership’s version was rolled out about one week after Paul Pelosi exercised the call options. Pelosi explained why the bill didn’t move forward before Congress adjourned at the end of September.
“We didn’t have the votes,” Pelosi said. “I wish we would’ve had the Republicans to vote for it because we’re almost there, but there are a few of our members who just, Steny has said he doesn’t want to vote for it, but I can only lose three votes.”
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer,…
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