NJ Congressman's Troubling Stock Trades . . .

New Jersey Republican Congressional Candidate Frank Pallotta called for Representative Josh Gottheimer to step down from the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services amid revelations he joined Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband in stock trades of chip maker NVIDIA ahead of a multi-billion-dollar spending bill intended to buoy the company.

Congressman Gottheimer is one of the most prolific stock traders in Congress. executing more than 1,200 trades totaling more than $100 million. He has also switched to a much riskier options strategy, trading an additional $120 million last year alone. What’s more disturbing is the timing of his trading activity. This spring, Congressman Gottheimer and Paul Pelosi, husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, purchased shares of NVIDIA within days of each other, as the Senate was poised to vote on a chip manufacturing bill favorable to the company.

“It’s nearly impossible to believe that these trades and others were made without insider knowledge,” said Mr. Pallotta. “Anyone else in the financial services industry would be fired from their job or face prosecution for insider trading. These members of Congress are not only in possession of material non-public information, but are in a position to influence the price of nearly every stock they own. Congressman Gottheimer should step down from the House Financial Services Committee immediately. He should not be involved in creating policy or writing legislation while this cloud is over him.”

Pallotta added: “Josh Gottheimer is an unethical member of Congress. It’s unconscionable that he is using his position to make millions of dollars and it must stop.”

Earlier this year, Frank Pallotta released a plan to combat Congressional insider trading, known as the T.R.U.S.T Act.

Elements of the T.R.U.S.T. Act include:

• The financial holdings of all members of Congress immediately be placed in a qualified “blind trust.”An independent oversight panel comprised of professionals with relevant and related skillsets will oversee the Blind Trust administrators.
• Limitations and restrictions be placed on holdings and certain sectors where committee and subcommittee conflicts exist.
• Immediate and close family members will not be required to place their holdings in a blind trust, but must request and receive written approval from the oversight panel before executing any transaction.
• Penalties for rule violation will be immediate and severe, including censure, expungement of profits, and removal from committees.

“New Jersey voters have had enough of corruption. It’s time for Congressman Gottheimer to come clean. He needs to resign immediately from the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services and once and for all, face the music about his questionable trading patterns and strategies,” Pallotta concluded.