Tag: insider trading

Burr to step down as Senate Intelligence chair amid insider trading probe

Axios logoSenate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) announced Thursday that Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) is stepping down from his position as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee pending an investigation into possible insider trading.

Why it matters: The news comes one day after reports that the FBI seized Burr’s phone as part of the investigation. Burr, who had access to classified briefings about the coronavirus, dumped between $582,029 and $1.56 million in March just prior to the market crash. He has denied wrongdoing.

What they’re saying:

  • McConnell: “Senator Burr contacted me this morning to inform me of his decision to step aside as Chairman of the Intelligence Committee during the pendency of the investigation. We agreed that this decision would be in the best interests of the committee and will be effective at the end of the day tomorrow.” Continue reading.

Chris Collins Suspends Campaign Just Days After Criminal Indictment

The following article by Simone Pathé and Bridget Bowman was posted on the Roll Call website August 11, 2018:

Rep. Chris Collins, R-N.Y., has suspended his re-election campaign after his arrest and indictment earlier this week on charges related to securities fraud. Credit: Tom Williams, CQ Roll Call file photo)

New York Republican Rep. Chris Collins, who was arrested and indicted on charges related to securities fraud earlier this week, has suspended his re-election campaign.

“Democrats are laser focused on taking back the House, electing Nancy Pelosi Speaker and then launching impeachment proceedings against President Trump,” Collins said in a statement Saturday. “They would like nothing more than to elect an ‘Impeach Trump’ Democrat in this District, which is something that neither our country or my party can afford.”

“After extensive discussions with my family and my friends over the last few days, I have decided that it is in the best interests of the constituents of NY-27, the Republican Party and President Trump’s agenda for me to suspend my campaign for re-election to Congress,” the three-term congressman added.

View the complete article here.

GOP Rep. Chris Collins charged with insider trading

The following article by Scott Wong and Sylvan Lane was posted on the Hill website August 8, 2018:

Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.), a top ally of President Trump on Capitol Hill, has been arrested and charged with federal securities fraud related to an Australian pharmaceutical company that counted him among its biggest shareholders.

Collins, who represents parts of western New York, turned himself in to the FBI on Wednesday morning, news reports said. Lawyers for the GOP lawmaker indicated that he would address the charges later Wednesday.

An indictment from a grand jury also charges Collins’s son, Cameron Collins, and Stephen Zarsky, the father of Cameron Collins’s fiancée.

View the complete article here.

Carl Icahn denies he knew about Trump’s steel tariff announcement before dumping stocks

The following article by Cleve R. Wootson Jr. and Marwa Eltagouri was posted on the Washington Post website March 7, 2018:

Investor Carl Icahn was an adviser to President Trump before he left in August to avoid any conflicts of interest. Credit: Brendan McDermid/Reuters

Billionaire activist-investor Carl Icahn said Wednesday that he knew nothing about President Trump’s decision to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports before deciding to sell shares in a company that makes cranes for heavy construction.

“We don’t generally comment on rumors, but the recent media speculation regarding our sale of Manitowoc stock calls for a response,” Icahn, a former Trump adviser, said in a short statement on his website.

“We state for the record: Any suggestion that we had prior knowledge of the Trump administration’s announcement of new tariffs on steel imports is categorically untrue. We reduced our position in Manitowoc for legitimate investment reasons having nothing to do with that announcement.” Continue reading “Carl Icahn denies he knew about Trump’s steel tariff announcement before dumping stocks”

Trump confidant dumped millions in steel-related stock last week

The following article by Judd Legum was posted on the ThinkProgress website March 2, 2018:

Carl Icahn has impeccable timing.

Chairman of Icahn Enterprises Carl Icahn participates in a panel discussion at the New York Times 2015 DealBook Conference at the Whitney Museum of American Art on November 3, 2015 in New York City. Credit:  Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for New York Times

Billionaire investor and longtime Trump confidant Carl Icahn dumped $31.3 million of stock in a company heavily dependent on steel last week, just days before Trump announced plans to impose steep tariffs on steel imports.

In a little-noticed SEC filing submitted on February 22, 2018, Icahn disclosed that he systematically sold off nearly 1 million shares of Manitowoc Company Inc. Manitowoc is a “is a leading global manufacturer of cranes and lifting solutions” and, therefore, heavily dependent on steel to make its products. Continue reading “Trump confidant dumped millions in steel-related stock last week”

Rep. Tom Price’s STOCK Act Scandal

The following article by Danielle Root was posted on the Center for American Progress website February 1, 2017:

(AP/Andrew Harnik)
Nominee for Health and Human Services Secretary Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) pauses while testifying on Capitol Hill in Washington, January 24, 2017, at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Finance Committee.

Rep. Tom Price’s (R-GA) nomination to be the new secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services is under a heavy ethical cloud. Price is alleged to have engaged in dubious ethical decisions at best and corrupt dealings that violate the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge, or STOCK, Act at worst. The STOCK Act prohibits members of Congress from making “investment decisions based on insider information they might come across because of their congressional role.”

There is evidence, for example, that Rep. Price received a tip from Rep. Chris Collins (R-NY) to purchase stock from an Australian biomedical firm, Innate Immunotherapeutics Inc. Collins, who sits Continue reading “Rep. Tom Price’s STOCK Act Scandal”