67 members of Congress have violated a law designed to prevent insider trading and stop conflicts-of-interest
- Insider and other media have identified numerous US lawmakers not complying with the federal STOCK Act.
- Their excuses range from oversights, to clerical errors, to inattentive accountants.
- Congress is now considering banning lawmakers from trading individual stocks.
- See more stories on Insider’s business page.
Insider and several other news organizations have identified 67 members of Congress who’ve recently failed to properly report their financial trades as mandated by the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act of 2012, also known as the STOCK Act.
Congress passed the law a decade ago to combat insider trading and conflicts of interest among their own members and force lawmakers to be more transparent about their personal financial dealings. A key provision of the law mandates that lawmakers publicly — and quickly — disclose any stock trade made by themselves, a spouse, or a dependent child.
But many members of Congress have not fully complied with the law. They offer excuses including ignorance of the law, clerical errors, and mistakes by an accountant. Insider has chronicled this widespread nature of this phenomenon in “Conflicted Congress,” an ongoing reporting project initially published in December.
While lawmakers who violate the STOCK Act face a fine, the penalty is usually small — $200 is the standard amount — or waived by House or Senate ethics officials. Ethics watchdogs and even some members of Congress have called for stricter penalties or even a ban on federal lawmakers from trading individual stocks. On Capitol Hill, lawmakers are now seriously debating such a ban, with a vote on a consensus bill possible for September.
Here are the lawmakers discovered to have recently violated the STOCK Act — to one extent or another:
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat from California
Feinstein was months late disclosing a five-figure investment her husband made into a private, youth-focused polling company.
Sen. Tommy Tuberville, a Republican from Alabama
Tuberville was weeks or months late in disclosing nearly 130 separate stock trades from January to May.
Sen. Roger Marshall, a Republican from Kansas
Marshall was up to 17 months late disclosing stock trades for one of his dependent children.
Sen. John Hickenlooper, a Democrat from Colorado
In May 2020, Hickenlooper was months — and in two cases, more than a year — late in disclosing five separate stock trades for himself or his wife that, taken together, are worth between $565,000 and $1.3 million, nonprofit news organization Sludge reported.
Then, in June, Hickenlooper failed to disclose purchases of varying classes of stock from by his wife. They include shares of Liberty Media Corporation, Qurate Retail, and Liberty Broadband Corporation in 2021 and early 2022. The stocks were valued between $516,006 and $1.2 million. Hickenlooper was also late in reporting that his wife sold between $130,004 and $300,000 worth of stock in Liberty Media Corporation and Liberty Broadband Corporation from March 2022.
Sen. Rand Paul, a Republican from Kentucky
Paul was 16 months late in disclosing that his wife bought stock in a biopharmaceutical company that manufactures an antiviral COVID-19 treatment, the Washington Post reported.
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, a Democrat from Rhode Island
Whitehouse was a couple days late disclosing January 2022 purchases of Target Corporation and Tesla Inc. stock, each valued at between $15,001 and $50,000.
Sen. Tom Carper, a Democrat from Delaware
Carper was about four months late disclosing his wife’s sale of stock in a gold mining company.
Sen. Bill Hagerty, a Republican from Tennessee
Hagerty was months late disclosing stock trades on behalf of his dependent children.
Sen. Cynthia Lummis, a Republican from Wyoming
Lummis was several days late reporting a purchase in August of up to $100,000 in bitcoin, CNBC reported.
Sen. Gary Peters, a Democrat from Michigan
Peters was months late disclosing a purchase of up to $15,000 worth of stock in FS KKR Capital Corp., which manages business development companies, nonprofit news organization Sludge reported.
Sen. Mark Kelly, a Democrat from Arizona
Kelly, a retired astronaut, failed to disclose on time his exercising of a stock option on an investment in a company that’s developing a supersonic passenger aircraft, Fox Business reported.
Rep. Tom Malinowski, a Democrat from New Jersey
Malinowski failed to disclose dozens of stock trades made during 2020 and early 2021, doing so only after questions from Insider.
The independent Office of Congressional Ethics, in part citing Insider’s reporting, found “substantial reason to believe” that Malinowski violated federal rules or laws designed to promote transparency and defend against conflicts. It voted 5-1 to refer its findings to the Democrat-led House Committee on Ethics, which confirmed on October 21 that it will continue reviewing the matter.
Rep. Pat Fallon, a Republican from Texas
Fallon was months late disclosing dozens of stock trades during early- and mid-2021 that together are worth as much as $17.53 million. Fallon was late again in December 2021 disclosing stock trades.
Rep. Diana Harshbarger, a Republican from Tennessee
In 2021, Harshbarger failed to properly disclose more than 700 stock trades that together are worth as much as $10.9 million.
Rep. Susie Lee, a Democrat of Nevada
Lee failed to properly disclose more than 200 stock trades between early-2020 and mid-2021. Together, the trades are worth as much as $3.3 million.
Rep. Madison Cawthorn, a Republican from North Carolina
Cawthorn was months late in May 2022 when disclosing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of purchases and sales of two cryptocurrencies: ethereum and Let’s Go Brandon Coin, the latter referencing an anti-Joe Bien slogan.
Then, in June 2022, he was again months late in disclosing two-dozen additional cryptocurrency trades.
Rep. Katherine Clark, a Democrat from Massachusetts
Clark, one of the highest-ranking Democrats in the House, was several weeks late in disclosing 19 of her husband’s stock transactions. Together, the trades are worth as much as $285,000. She has since stopped trading stocks.
Rep. Blake Moore, a Republican from Utah
Moore in early- to mid-2021 did not properly disclose dozens of stock and stock-option trades together worth as much as $1.1 million. He was late again disclosing trades made in August.
On June 7, 2022, Moore established a qualified blind trust, formally ceding control of his investments to an independent trustee.
Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Democrat from Maryland
Raskin failed to disclose on three annual congressional financial reports that his wife, Sarah Bloom Raskin, held stock in Reserve Trust. He then didn’t disclose that she sold the stock, valued at $1.5 million, until months after a federal deadline for doing so. In early 2022, Raskin explained that sale disclosure delay occurred following his son’s death.
Then, in June 2022, Raskin was again late disclosing stock trades. This time, it involved an exchange of stocks his wife received when I(X) Investments merged with Net Zero — a trade valued at between $250,001 and $500,000.
Rep. Mikie Sherrill, a Democrat from New Jersey
Sherrill was months late disclosing two sales of vested stock her husband earned as part of his employment. The trades were worth up to $350,000 and Sherrill paid a $400 late fee.
Rep. Mo Brooks, a Republican from Alabama
Brooks, a US House member who ran for a US Senate in 2022 but lost in a primary, failed to properly disclose a sale of Pfizer stock worth up to $50,000.
Rep. Dan Crenshaw, a Republican from Texas
Crenshaw was months late disclosing several stock trades he made in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Daily Beast reported.
Rep. Kathy Manning, a Democrat from North Carolina
Manning and her husband were late — sometimes by months — disclosing several dozen stock trades made in 2021 that together were worth up to $1.25 million, according to nonprofit news organization Sludge.
Rep. Kevin Hern, a Republican from Oklahoma
Hern did not disclose nearly two-dozen stock trades in a timely manner, in violation of the STOCK Act. Taken together, the trades are worth as much as $2.7 million.
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Democrat from Florida
Wasserman Schultz was months late reporting four stock trades made either for herself or her child.
Rep. Michael Guest, a Republican from Mississippi
Guest was more than eight months late disclosing trades in the stock of two oil companies held by a family trust benefitting his wife.
Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, a Democrat from New York
Maloney was months late in disclosing he sold eight stocks he inherited in mid-2020 when his mother died.
Rep. Brian Mast, a Republican from Florida
Mast was late disclosing that he had purchased up to $100,000 in stock in an aerospace company. The president of the company had just testified before a congressional subcommittee on which Mast sits.
Rep. Lori Trahan, a Democrat from Massachusetts
Trahan was months late disclosing the sale of stock shares in a software company.
Rep. John Rutherford, a Republican from Florida
Rutherford failed to properly disclose five individual stock transactions he made in late 2020.
Rep. Brad Schneider, a Democrat from Illinois
Schneider was about two months late disclosing two stock trades involving a pet insurance company.
Rep. Mark Green, a Republican from Tennessee
Green was about two weeks late disclosing the June 2022 purchase of an energy stock valued at up to $250,000.
Rep. David Trone, a Democrat from Maryland
Trone was months late reporting several stocks and structured notes that together are worth well into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Rep. Pete Sessions, a Republican from Texas
Sessions was a month late in reporting a purchase of stock in Amazon.com he made during August 2021. Separately, in early 2022, Sessions was late disclosing seven trades he made in late 2021. Sessions has been an outspoken advocate of allowing members of Congress to trade individual stocks.
Rep. Dan Meuser, a Republican from Pennsylvania
Meuser was about one year late disclosing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of stock purchases his wife and children made during March 2020, LegiStorm reported.
Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, a Democrat from Texas
Gonzalez was nearly a year late in disclosing a sale of up to $15,000 worth of mining company stock.
Rep. Kathy Castor, a Democrat of Florida
Castor was late disclosing the purchase of tens of thousands of dollars worth of stock shares throughout 2021.
Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, a Republican from Florida
Salazar was weeks late disclosing a health care company stock share exchange valued at between $250,001 and $500,000.
The freshman congresswoman had sharply criticized her predecessor, former Rep. Donna Shalala, for her own STOCK Act-related troubles.
Rep. Bill Pascrell, a Democrat of New Jersey
Pascrell was overdue reporting stock trades he made in December 2019 in General Electric and in August 2019 in pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson.
Rep. August Pfluger, a Republican from Texas
Pfluger was several months late disclosing numerous stock purchases or sales made in January or March either by himself or by his wife.
Rep. Brian Higgins, a Democrat from New York
Higgins was about 11 months late disclosing three stock trades he made in late 2020.
Rep. Cheri Bustos, a Democrat from Illinois
Bustos was months late in disclosing that she had sold up to $150,000 worth of stocks in March.
Rep. Steve Chabot, a Republican from Ohio
Chabot was months late disclosing a stock share exchange he held in early 2021.
Rep. Victoria Spartz, a Republican from Indiana
Spartz was two weeks late disclosing a purchase of up to $50,000 worth of stock in a commercial real-estate firm.
Rep. Rick Allen, a Republican from Georgia
Allen, a four-term Republican who represents a large southeastern region of Georgia, appears to have improperly disclosed the purchases and sales of several stocks during 2019 and 2020.
Rep. Kim Schrier, a Democrat from Washington
Schrier was more than two months late disclosing that her husband purchased up to $1 million in Apple Inc. stock, Sludge and Forbes reported. Schrier’s office told Insider that the congresswoman was initially unaware of the transaction.
Rep. Kurt Schrader, a Democrat from Oregon
Schrader failed to disclose two stock trades from December 2021 on time.
Rep. Mike Kelly, a Republican from Pennsylvania
Kelly was more than seven weeks late reporting a stock purchase made by his wife.
Rep. Chris Jacobs, a Republican from New York
Jacobs was months late filing various transactions made throughout early- to mid-2021, Forbes reported.
Rep. Bobby Scott, a Democrat from Virginia
Scott was months late in disclosing a pair of stock sales from December 2020, Forbes reported. NPR also reported several other late transactions, as first identified by the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center.
Rep. Austin Scott, a Republican from Georgia
Scott, a Republican from Georgia, was a week late reporting a handful of transactions conducted by his spouse.
Rep. Ed Perlmutter, a Democrat from Colorado
Perlmutter ran a few days late in filing disclosures for as much as $30,000 in stock trades his wife made in June.
Dwight Evans, a Democrat from Pennsylvania
Evans in December 2021 failed to properly disclose a sale of up to $15,000 worth of stock in American Electric Power Co. Inc.
Rep. Tom Suozzi, a Democrat from New York
Suozzi failed to file required reports on about 300 financial transactions, NPR reported, citing research from the Campaign Legal Center. In March 2022, Suozzi disclosed more than 30 stock trades months or years past a federal deadline, Insider reported. In May 2022, he disclosed 10 more stock trades weeks past the federal deadline for doing so.
Rep. Warren Davidson, a Republican from Ohio
Davidson didn’t properly disclose the sale of stock worth up to $100,000, reported NPR, citing Campaign Legal Center research.
Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, a Republican from Tennessee
Fleischmann, a Republican from Tennessee, was late in disclosing a pair of stock transactions together worth up to $30,000.
Rep. Michael Burgess, a Republican from Texas
In December 2021, Burgess failed to disclose on time the sale of 100 stock shares in health insurer Cigna Corp.
Rep. Cindy Axne, a Democrat from Iowa
During 2019 and 2020, Axne didn’t file required periodic transaction reports for more than three-dozen trades, reported NPR, citing research by the Campaign Legal Center.
Del. Michael San Nicolas, a Democrat from Guam
San Nicolas did not properly disclose two trades — one in 2019 and another in 2020, reported NPR, citing Campaign Legal Center research.
Rep. Peter Welch, a Democrat from Vermont
Welch, an outspoken environmentalist, was late disclosing the sale of his wife’s ExxonMobil stock. In December, Welch’s office told Insider that the congressman and his wife would both stop trading individual stocks.
Rep. Jim Banks, a Republican from Indiana
Banks was a week late reporting a handful of stock transactions.
Rep. Mike Garcia, a Republican from California
Garcia was late disclosing several stock trades he made in mid-2020, as first reported by the American Independent.
Rep. Rob Wittman, a Republican from Virginia
Wittman was a few days late in disclosing four of his stock transactions that included pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson.
Rep. Alan Lowenthal, a Democrat from California
Lowenthal was late disclosing his wife’s purchase of a corporate bond in cloud computing and technology company VMWare, worth between $15,001 and $50,000, Forbes reported. “We have no comment,” Lowenthal spokesman Keith Higginbotham told Insider on November 18.
In June, Lowenthal violated the STOCK Act again when he was months late disclosing four stock or corporate bond trades.
Rep. Jim Hagedorn, a Republican from Minnesota
Hagedorn was more than three months late disclosing the sale of stock in a company that makes colon cancer-screening products. Hagedorn died in February 2022.
Rep. Roger Williams, a Republican from Texas
Williams did not properly report three stock transactions his wife made in 2019, reported NPR, citing Campaign Legal Center research.
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