ICYMI: Harley Rouda breaks federal law…AGAIN
Harley Rouda, fired congressman turned retread candidate, has once again violated the STOCK Act.
Business Insider reports that while Rouda was in Congress he failed to disclose that his family was buying up Amazon stock in the middle of the pandemic.
After failing to pay his DC property taxes, getting caught pushing lies about Congresswoman Michelle Steel and getting called out for having racist campaign ads, Harley has no business representing Californians.
NRCC Comment: “Californians already fired Harley Rouda once, and they’re unlikely to bring him back now that he’s been caught breaking federal law to hide his pandemic profiteering.” — NRCC Spokeswoman Torunn Sinclair
In case you missed it…
On The Congressional-Comeback Trail, Democrat Harley Rouda Appears To Violate The Federal STOCK Act
Business Insider
By: Kimberly Leonard and Dave Levinthal
July 6, 2021
https://www.businessinsider.com/harley-rouda-california-congress-stock-act-tom-malinowski-2021-7
Rouda appears to violate the STOCK Act
Former Rep. Harley Rouda, in the middle of a political-comeback attempt, promises to “fight for transparency and decency in Washington” if elected again to Congress in 2022.
But it appears Rouda, a Democrat from California, violated a provision of the federal STOCK Act that’s designed to make lawmakers’ stock trades more transparent.
Rouda recently disclosed that his wife in May 2020 purchased up to $15,000 worth of Amazon stock, then sold the same amount worth of Amazon shares a week later, according to a new congressional filing. She also sold up to $15,000 in Tesla stock in June 2020.
The disclosures, which stem from a time when Rouda still served in Congress, are about 11 months tardy.
By law, Rouda had 30 days after he became aware of the trades — or 45 days overall — to disclose them. That rule applies to members of Congress, their spouses, and their dependent children. At minimum, such violations can result in fines.
“Congressman Rouda was not made aware of his wife’s handful of trades until 2021. He immediately filed the necessary disclosures upon learning of the transactions,” Alyssa Napuri, Rouda’s campaign manager, told Insider. “Congressman Rouda and his wife handle their personal finances independently of one another and through the counsel of financial advisors.”
Many members of Congress use financial advisors to make stock trades but are nevertheless personally required to adhere to federal stock-disclosure rules. Recently, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Pramila Jayapal told Insider they planned to introduce legislation that would bar members of Congress from trading individual stocks altogether.
Napuri said Rouda “supports the principle of this potential legislation,” but she declined to comment on whether the lawmaker would voluntarily stop trading individual stocks if elected to Congress in 2022.
Rouda, who in November lost his seat by about 2 percentage points to Republican Michelle Steel, has had trouble with late disclosures before. In October, CBS News reported that Rouda paid a fine after failing to properly disclose trades made during 2019.