Report: 71 Members of Congress Found To Be in Violation of Federal Law

Stories of congressional members involved in insider trading have made headlines for decades. On Tuesday, The Western Journal reported that 71 members of Congress violated the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act of 2012. As such, they violate a federal law designed to prevent members of Congress from accessing inside information to enrich themselves.

According to the STOCK Act, congressional representatives are required to report financial trades exceeding $1,000 “that they, their spouses or their dependent children made within 30 to 45 days of the transactions,” according to the Western Journal. 

The shocking report notes that offenders come from both sides of the political aisle. On Monday, Business Insider reported that 71 members of Congress reportedly failed to report trades properly and violated the STOCK Act.

The report in Business Insider noted: “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.

“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.”

The Western Journal noted that in many cases, “the lawmakers either reported their transactions late or failed to report them altogether. The stock deals range in value from five figures to millions of dollars.”

The penalty for a member of Congress in violation of the STOCK Act is generally a nominal fine, which does little to ensure compliance with the law. Business Insider noted:

“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.”

The issue of insider trading made the headlines again in June when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul, made a $5,000,000 stock transaction days before a congressional vote pertaining to the stocks in question.

At the time, Nancy Pelosi rebuffed questions about impropriety and requests for stiffer penalties for congressional representatives and family members involved with insider trading. 

According to Business Insider, the following names comprise the list of shame — offenders of the STOCK Act:

1. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat from California
2. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, a Republican from Alabama
3. Sen. Roger Marshall, a Republican from Kansas
4. Sen. John Hickenlooper, a Democrat from Colorado
5. Sen. Rand Paul, a Republican from Kentucky
6. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, a Democrat from Rhode Island
7. Sen. Rick Scott, a Republican from Florida
8. Sen. Tom Carper, a Democrat from Delaware
9. Sen. Bill Hagerty, a Republican from Tennessee
10. Sen. Cynthia Lummis, a Republican from Wyoming
11. Sen. Gary Peters, a Democrat from Michigan
12. Sen. Mark Kelly, a Democrat from Arizona
13. Rep. Tom Malinowski, a Democrat from New Jersey
14. Rep. Pat Fallon, a Republican from Texas
15. Rep. Diana Harshbarger, a Republican from Tennessee
16. Rep. Susie Lee, a Democrat of Nevada
17. Rep. Madison Cawthorn, a Republican from North Carolina
18. Rep. Katherine Clark, a Democrat from Massachusetts
19. Rep. Blake Moore, a Republican from Utah
20. Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Democrat from Maryland
21. Rep. Mo Brooks, a Republican from Alabama
22. Rep. Lauren Boebert, a Republican from Colorado
23. Rep. Dan Crenshaw, a Republican from Texas
24. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Democrat from Florida
25. Rep. Kathy Manning, a Democrat from North Carolina
26. Rep. Mikie Sherrill, a Democrat from New Jersey
27. Rep. Kevin Hern, a Republican from Oklahoma
28. Rep. Brian Mast, a Republican from Florida
29. Rep. Brad Schneider, a Democrat from Illinois
30. Rep. Michael Guest, a Republican from Mississippi
31. Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, a Democrat from New York
32. Rep. Lori Trahan, a Democrat from Massachusetts
33. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, a Democrat from Pennsylvania
34. Rep. John Rutherford, a Republican from Florida
35. Rep. Josh Gottheimer, a Democrat from New Jersey
36. Rep. Mark Green, a Republican from Tennessee
37. Rep. David Trone, a Democrat from Maryland
38. Rep. Pete Sessions, a Republican from Texas
39. Rep. Dan Meuser, a Republican from Pennsylvania
40. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, a Democrat from Texas
41. Rep. Kathy Castor, a Democrat of Florida
42. Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, a Republican from Florida
43. Rep. Bill Pascrell, a Democrat of New Jersey
44. Rep. August Pfluger, a Republican from Texas
45. Rep. Brian Higgins, a Democrat from New York
46. Rep. Cheri Bustos, a Democrat from Illinois
47. Rep. Steve Chabot, a Republican from Ohio
48. Rep. Victoria Spartz, a Republican from Indiana
49. Rep. Rick Allen, a Republican from Georgia
50. Rep. Kim Schrier, a Democrat from Washington
51. Rep. Kurt Schrader, a Democrat from Oregon
52. Rep. Mike Kelly, a Republican from Pennsylvania
53. Rep. Chris Jacobs, a Republican from New York
54. Rep. Bobby Scott, a Democrat from Virginia
55. Rep. Austin Scott, a Republican from Georgia
56. Rep. Ed Perlmutter, a Democrat from Colorado
57. Rep. Dwight Evans, a Democrat from Pennsylvania
58. Rep. Tom Suozzi, a Democrat from New York
59. Rep. Warren Davidson, a Republican from Ohio
60. Rep. Lance Gooden, a Republican from Texas
61. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, a Republican from Tennessee
62. Rep. Michael Burgess, a Republican from Texas
63. Rep. Cindy Axne, a Democrat from Iowa
64. Del. Michael San Nicolas, a Democrat from Guam
65. Rep. Peter Welch, a Democrat from Vermont
66. Rep. Jim Banks, a Republican from Indiana
67. Rep. Mike Garcia, a Republican from California
68. Rep. Rob Wittman, a Republican from Virginia
69. Rep. Alan Lowenthal, a Democrat from California
70. Rep. Jim Hagedorn, a Republican from Minnesota
71. Rep. Roger Williams, a Republican from Texas

Notably, Democrat Nancy Pelosi was not on the latest list of STOCK Act violators. Reportedly, she escaped the wall of shame because she reported her transactions and, therefore, was technically in compliance.

However, the Western Journal notes that Nancy and Paul Pelosi have a long history of questionable stock trades and that these trades have raised questions even among leaders in the liberal media.

The disclosure of the violations, alongside reported abuses by the Department of Justice, mismanagement of the COVID pandemic by top officials at the Center for Disease Control and bias in the mainstream media have led to plummeting public confidence in America’s key institutions.