A conservative watchdog group has called for an ethics investigation into Sen. Richard Blumenthal’s stock trades as pressure builds on lawmakers to address members’ trading.
The Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust asked the Senate Select Committee on Ethics to investigate the Connecticut Democrat’s multimillion-dollar sale of Robinhood shares, according to the Washington Free Beacon.
“Blumenthal’s stock trades raise conflict of interest concerns, and to make matters worse, Blumenthal failed to disclose his trades as required by the very laws intended to reveal conflicts of interest,” Kendra Arnold, the executive director of FACT, wrote in a letter to Sens. Chris Coons and James Lankford, the chairman and vice chairman of the committee.
The Washington Free Beacon previously reported that Blumenthal and his wife bought and sold shares of the stock trading app Robinhood while the senator called for a congressional investigation into a speculation frenzy over GameStop shares.
LIBERAL ABORTION BILL FAILS TO CLEAR SENATE HURDLE BUT PUTS DEMOCRATS ON RECORD
NBC Connecticut reported last month that a company owned by Blumenthal’s wife “purchased securities in a hedge fund that was bundling shares of the stock trading platform Robinhood before the IPO,” the same day the senator called for an investigation into Robinhood.
“I own no individual stock nor had knowledge or control over any transaction involving Robinhood stock,” Blumenthal told the outlet, adding the trades were part of “a family fund.” Blumenthal added that he supports “a ban on any member of Congress owning individual stock.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The complaint against Blumenthal comes as lawmakers from both parties have introduced or backed efforts to ban members of Congress or their spouses from trading individual stocks.
