The Washington Post has an interesting article today on the stock trades of Rep. James P. Moran Jr. (D-Va.). I have been a long critic of members playing the stock market (here) given the dangers posed by insider information and advantage. With considerable resources tied up in particular areas, members can influence the markets through legislation or anticipate market shifts due to forthcoming changes.
Moran is a former stockbroker who has been previously criticized for a loan related to a lobbyist, here.
Moran continues to actively trade on the market with as much as $3 million in stock value. In his second divorce, his ex-wife accused him of “stock market gambling.”
His staff insist that Moran has not made stock trades himself in five years. He still has considerable holdings however and the Post reports that “the holdings included small investments in two companies for which Moran requested earmarks in 2008.”
Once again, I simply will note that such dangers would be eliminated if we required all members to have blind trusts or stock portfolios so that they remain unaware of where their stocks are held.
For the full story,click here.
term limits!
Well, at the minimum, congressmen should be required to recuse themselves when legislation/earmarks come up that impact stock they own, including stock held in a mutual fund. The statement that his wife’s trading is off limits to investigators because she uses a professional money manager is absurd. So she uses Fidelity, Smith Barney, a local money manager. You don’t think the money manager gets her approval of every trade he/she makes? She probably knows every stock/option whatever in her portfolio and so does he.
And, what about the $25K loan? What was the resolution of that issue? Was the letter ignored? Shows terrible judgment on his part. Patent violation of ethics rules and for a mere $25K? I also wonder why the lobbyist would take the risk.
Hard to figure out what the deal was except it was an 8% unsecured demand note, interest payable semi-annually. Then there’s the weird statement in the letter that the amount of the loan/note could be increased? All this in one paragraph? The fact that it wasn’t recorded is meaningless, though it looks like the author of the letter is trying to imply something nefarious by it not being recorded.
I would like to see the financial statements of the editorial board of the Washington Post. For example, the Post editorial board has been a strong supporter of both current wars. I’d like to know if the board owns stock in publicly traded defense companies.
Blouise:
they wont, he is a democrat in a heavily democratic district. He has been in the “limelight” before and generally has a bad reputation around here.
Greed … voters should simply kick him out …
His staff insist that Moran has not made stock trades himself in five years.
So, he uses a broker. What a useless response.
And LBJ would be a model not to follow. Let me count the ways. Matel a toy manufacture got the contract to build the stock for the M-16. Relevance, the Johnson family Blind trust invested in matel right before the contract was awarded. TV and Radio stations. Although Lady Bird’s family had a TV station. It was a coincidence that right before FCC licenses were expanded LBJ Blind Family Trust invested in ABC and NBC who were awarded the newly created stations. Hmm, there is a lot more.
Do they really work?