Democrat Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) admitted on Monday that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) husband’s stock trading activity sways her legislative judgment.
Pelosi stated recently that lawmakers and their spouses should be permitted to continue trading stocks with a small degree of transparency. “We’re a free-market economy,” Pelosi said at the time. “They [lawmakers] should be able to participate in that.”
“Speaker Pelosi is an amazing leader, but on this issue I disagree with her completely,” Merkley said. “When members hold individual stocks it can’t help but influence their thinking on policies and tax laws that affect their value.”
Pelosi, who is married to profuse trader Paul, is one of the wealthiest members of Congress, largely because of her husband’s stock trading activity and real estate holdings. The Pelosis raked in $4.8 million dollars on tech options. Pelosi claims she does not own any stocks her husband trades.
A Trafalgar Group poll revealed 76 percent of voters believe congressional members and their spouses have an “unfair advantage” trading stocks. Only five percent of voters supported stock trading by lawmakers. But to hell with the people’s will — corruption is the heart and soul of Democrat politics.