As lawmakers push to pass legislation that prevents members of Congress from trading stocks, disclosure forms have revealed that the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi recently bought over $2 million of Tesla stock.
Earlier in March, Paul Pelosi, a venture capitalist, purchased 2,500 shares of Tesla stock by exercising 25 call options at a $500 strike price, a Congressional disclosure filing revealed. The call options were set to expire the following day.
The Tesla stock was worth about $2.2 million at the time of purchase, but Pelosi has already generated a windfall given the electric car firm’s recent success.
Shares were trading at approximately $1,007 as of last week, meaning Pelosi’s stake is already now worth more than $2.5 million and will likely climb further.
The disclosure is causing consternation from both parties, who argue such trades are a conflict of interest since Pelosi and other Congressional lawmakers have access to sensitive information and are responsible for enacting laws regulating businesses.
Whiles such trades are legal for now; they at least must be disclosed. The latest disclosures were mandated during the 2012 Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act, which requires lawmakers to disclose individual trades made by themselves, their spouses, or their children within 45 days of the transaction.
The Tesla purchase marked the latest major investment for Pelosi’s husband, who previously scooped up call options in tech stocks such as Google, Salesforce, Roblox, and Disney.
The NY Post also reported that the Pelosi’s had earned as much as $30 million from bets on the Big Tech firms through January 2022. And some insiders have accused the Speaker of slow-walking legislation that would impose new regulations on the tech sector.
Reps for Nancy Pelosi didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from the news media. In January, Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill was dismissive when The Post asked whether her husband’s stock trades were a conflict of interest.
“The Speaker does not own any stocks,” Hammill told The Post at the time. “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.”
Pelosi initially opposed the idea of a ban on Congressional stock trades, arguing in December that lawmakers should be allowed to participate in a “free-market economy.”
After a fierce backlash to those remarks, the House Speaker back-peddled and said she could be open to stricter rules governing stock trades – including a potential ban.
“To give a blanket attitude of ‘We can’t do this, and we can’t do,’ because we can’t be trusted, I just don’t buy into that. But if members want to do that, I’m okay with that,” Pelosi said.
Several lawmakers have introduced bills aimed at cracking down on Congress stock trades – with one of the most prominent proposals floated by Sen. Jon Ossoff, a fellow Democrat from Georgia.