Nancy Pelosi gets all the attention for making money hand over fist on stock trades that are suspiciously timed given what regulations and bills she is considering, but she’s hardly the only one in DC suspected of stock trading-related corruption.
Another is Energy Secretary, Jennifer Granholm, who is suspected by The Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust’s (FACT) of not reporting certain stock trades.
Specifically, FACT alleges that Ms. Granholm improperly reported nine stock trades that were collectively worth about a quarter of a million dollars, a violation of the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act.
According to Business Insider, which reported on the hidden stock trades, Ms. Granholm did eventually report the nine trades, which were made between April 30, 2021, and October 26, 2021.
However, the problem is with when she reported them; she didn’t do so and disclose them to the Office of Government Ethics until December 15-16, 2021, well past the 30-day deadline for disclosure demanded by the STOCK Act.
Further, according to Business Insider, the stock trades involved government contractors about which a senior official might have had insider knowledge. In its words, “Granholm’s stock sales involved shares of biopharmaceutical firm Gilead Sciences Inc. — a major government contractor and maker of COVID-19 treatment remdesivir — mobility service Uber, and real estate company Redfin.”
FACT’s complaint against Ms. Granholm echoes that reporting, alleging that:
“Secretary Granholm made nine stock transactions between April 30 and October 26, 2021, but she did not publicly disclose these transactions until December 15 and 16, 2021 — weeks or months past the 30-day deadline required by federal law.”
“Secretary Granholm’s investment transactions included shares of the biopharmaceutical firm Gilead Sciences Inc. (a large government contractor and maker of COVID-19 treatment Remdesivir), Uber, and the real estate company Redfin. Secretary Granholm claims that she was unaware of her trades; however, this is irrelevant, and her duty is to comply with the law.”
Speaking on the report and Granholm’s trades, Fox reports that FACT executive director Kendra Arnold said:
As exemplified here, a government official’s failure to comply with the most basic ethics rules leads to public distrust in our government. Secretary Granholm should not be exempt from the consequences of violating federal law and she owes the public an explanation for failing to comply with the law. We request the Inspector General immediately investigate and implement the proper penalties and consequences for these violations.
So, perhaps Ms. Granholm wasn’t corrupt, but rather ignorant as to her finances. But that doesn’t particularly matter, nor should it.
The rules are there for a reason; Americans can’t watch their government officials make suspicious trades in government contractors worth hundreds of thousands of dollars and then get away with not reporting such massive trades, claiming ignorance when caught.
No, the STOCK Act is there because such a state is unbearable; American citizens cannot and should not have to watch as top officials enrich themselves off insider knowledge at the public’s expense, or are at least suspected of doing so. Ms. Granholm must be held accountable.
By: Gen Z Conservative, editor of GenZConservative.com. Follow me on Parler and Gettr.
This story syndicated with permission from Will, Author at Trending Politics
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