Investments of Pelosi and Boehner Questioned: Is Insider Trading Legal for Members of Congress?

By Bhaskar Prasad | November 15 2011 11:19 PM

Both parties' House leaders, Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., are among several lawmakers who profited from transactions that raised possible of conflicts of interest, according to a report on CBS' 60 Minutes.

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House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi speaks about the budget in the Capitol in Washington April 7, 2011.

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Pelosi and her husband participated in a 2008 IPO, involving Visa, even as legislation that would have hurt credit card companies was being considered in the House, stated the report. At the time Pelosi was speaker and the legislation failed to pass in that session.

CBS investigated the investments of various lawmakers such as Pelosi, Boehner and Republican Rep. Spencer Bachus of Alabama and reported that they bought stocks around the same time that legislation involving those investments was being discussed.

Congress has never done more for consumers nor has the Congress passed more critical reforms of the credit card industry than under the speakership of Nancy Pelosi, Pelosi spokesman, Drew Hammill, said in a statement soon after the report aired Sunday night.

It is very troubling that '60 Minutes' would base their reporting off of an already-discredited conservative author who has made a career out of attacking Democrats, he added.

Pelosi's spokesman criticized the CBS story for failing to note that the legislation in question was reported out of the Judiciary Committee on Oct. 3, 2008 -- the day the House was consumed in passing TARP and also the last day the House was in session before the November election.