[Home] [Headlines] [Latest Articles] [Latest Comments] [Post] [Sign-in] [Mail] [Setup] [Help]
Status: Not Logged In; Sign In
|
National News See other National News Articles Title: Congress: We're Above The Law, You Can’t Investigate Us for Insider Trading Sputnik... Insider trading is generally considered a bad idea. It creates an unlevel playing field, hurts the stock market, and potentially even decreases economic growth. The US Congress has passed several laws to ban the practice. But those laws do not, evidently, apply to Congress itself. Back in 2004, America’s sweetheart, Martha Stewart, was busted by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Based on nonpublic knowledge of biopharmaceutical company ImClone Systems, Stewart dumped $45,673 worth of stock just before the value plummeted. She was charged with securities fraud and sentenced to jail. It’s high-profile cases like that which led to calls for the US Congress to implement new laws which could curtail its own potential for financial abuse. Texas Governor Greg Abbott © Flickr/ Gage Skidmore Texas Governor Files Brief to Support Florida Lawsuit Against US Government And Congress heeded the call. In 2012, it passed the STOCK, or Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge, Act. It was a rare bipartisan feat aimed at preventing insider trading by members of Congress who, by nature of their profession, have a vast amount of insider knowledge. Only five members in both houses of Congress voted against the bill, which was otherwise lauded as a major step forward in government accountability. But once the SEC decided to conduct its first investigation into potential cases, the House of Representatives suddenly had a change of heart. According to a brief filed last summer, a team of lawyers appointed by the House argued that the SEC’s inquiry was in breach of the separation of powers between the executive and legislative branch. "What the SEC has done is embark on a remarkable fishing expedition for congressional records…" the brief reads, before going on to say that the investigation’s target is "immune" from the suit. The SEC’s primary focus was on Brian Sutter, a former staffer for the House Ways and Means Committee, who allegedly slipped details about upcoming Medicare legislation to a lobbyist. That lobbyist then passed the information on to major hedge funds. The US government has wasted billions of dollars in unnecessary programs that threaten to bankrupt the United States © Sputnik/ Igor Mikhalev Wasteful Government Spending Threatens to Bankrupt US - Senate Report The House petition insists that "this Court lacks personal jurisdiction over the Committee and Mr. Sutter," and insists that congressional staffers are constitutionally protected from such questioning. The brief also makes a strange argument that if Mr. Sutter were to be subpoenaed as part of an investigation, it could interfere with his valuable time. "Mr. Sutter’s schedule is heavily, and nearly permanently, booked with official activities," the brief reads. "Unquestionably, therefor, requiring Mr. Sutter to sit for an SEC deposition would interfere with his work for the Committee." Too bad Martha Stewart couldn’t argue that prison would get in the way of her crafting schedule. Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest
#1. To: Tatarewicz (#0)
I am NO fan of Stewart's, but would love to know why they chose her for that year's sacrificial victim. Maybe they think her stuff's just too caucasian? The first time I accudentally surfed onto her TV act she was showing how to make a little paper dragon to celebrate the Chinese new year, and soooo "special" about it. YUCH!!!
I've wondered that as well. Doubt we'll ever get an answer.
Since she's a billionaire, she's one of them -- the "elite". Maybe she turned down a hit by Kissinger at a Trilateral conference or something.
Probably wouldn't get on her knees and pull a Lewinsky in some form or another. Our society is very quickly getting to a point where if you don't play establishment ball, you ain't gonna eat. May still be 20 years off, but it's coming.
|
||
|
[Home]
[Headlines]
[Latest Articles]
[Latest Comments]
[Post]
[Sign-in]
[Mail]
[Setup]
[Help]
|
||