Ro Khanna Does More Stock Trades Than Anyone Else In Congress
Alleged anti-corruption politician is pulling a Pelosi by pretending he has nothing to do with his spouses' millions made in the stock market.
Insider trading is the act of trading stocks based on information that has not been made public but will effect the price of that stock in the future. This is technically a crime yet lawmakers participate in this practice every day of the year. It’s almost impossible for members of congress to make stock trades in any company without the use of insider information because of the nature of their jobs. Members of congress sit on committees tasked with overseeing every industry and major corporation in the US. It’s their job to analyze internal corporate documents that no average citizen could ever get access to make sure corporations are in compliance with the law. They speak to executives on a regular basis about the operation of those businesses. Politicians know the details of government contracts with private business. They cut the checks for billions of dollars in government subsidies to industries and specific corporations. Congress regularly conducts investigations with subpoena power to compel secret documents. News of either action alone can cause a drop in stock prices. Representatives vote on regulation that will affect how an entire industry operates and they have knowledge before hand how these votes will end up. I am belaboring the point of just how many ways congress members have access to insider information to make clear that the possibility these people can make stock purchases without even accidentally using insider information is next to impossible, and the likelihood that these proven corrupt self dealing politicians are deliberately using insider information to get rich via stock trades is through the roof.
The New York Times did an investigation on stock trades done by law makers and in the name of their immediate family members to find conflicts of interests between committee assignments and corporations they invested in. More than anything else what stood out to me is how alleged anti-corruption Justice Democrat Ro Khanna had more stock trades and potential conflicts of interest than any member of congress. Ro reported 10,500 trades in 897 companies since 2019. In an interview on CNBC in February, Ro Khanna confirmed those accounts did $34 million in stock purchases and $19 million in sales in 2021 alone. He was co-chair of presidential campaign claiming to lead a political revolution to upend the establishment but it turns out he’s just another slick talking member of the swamp making millions off the corrupt status quo.
The excuse Ro is using to justify his fortune tied to the wealth of corporations he should be adversarial towards doesn’t stand up to mild scrutiny. It’s the same tired excuse used by many other lawmakers including the queen of insider trading herself, Nancy Pelosi. “It’s not me who owns the stocks, it’s my spouse.” In their eyes this thin veneer of respectability over wildly unethical behavior is enough justification to get the gullible public to stop whining about the brazen self dealing. I assure you, it’s not. Just as unconvincing is the additional caveat Ro add which is even though his wife technically owns the stock, neither of them are the one making trades: it’s an outside party that manages her account. I’m not a lawyer but if I was I’m sure I couldn’t craft a more polished way to participate in corruption with just enough plausible deniability than that. Person A is a public official with unquantifiable access to insider information, Person B is a private citizen making millions in stock trades likely informed by that insider information, an allegedly independent financial advisors to execute the trades and with the added benefit that any communication between Person A and Person B are protected by spousal privilege.
Common sense raises the question how truly independent can a third party really be if you hire and fire them at will. Ironically, Ro Khanna was the one to debunk the idea that there is any real degree of separation between himself and the advisors hired to manage the account. In an interview with the New York Times about this investigation Ro said the sale of Lockheed Martin stock came after his family was pressured by outside advocacy groups. This is verification that no only will the third party that manages the account execute specific trades when they’re told but also Ro has some degree of control over when those trades happen. Who do you think that advocacy group was pressuring: A random private citizen who owns stocks in defense contractors or a public official who claims to be against endless wars and the war profiteers who keep them going?
Ro Khanna wants to hide behind the fact that technically it’s his wives’ money but is that a good enough reason to do absolutely nothing about what at minimum appears to be an unethical money making operation while you’re a public official who opposes the influence that corporations have over politicians? If you can’t convince your highly educated wife that her transactions make you appear corrupt and deeply beholden to corporate interests than don’t be a public official. No one is forcing you to be a member of congress. Clearly your family is well off and making millions of dollars every year on stock trades alone so spare me the concerns about your children going hungry if you miss a paycheck. One thing I know for sure is it should be completely untenable for a politician to claim to represent people being crushed by the status quo while his entire financial fortune is dependent on the status quo staying exactly the same.