OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Paul Pelosi, the husband of Speaker of the House and California Rep. Nancy Pelosi, is being hammered for purchasing $5 million in stock in a chip manufacturer as Congress is set to vote on legislation that could hand $52 billion to semiconductor producers.
According to a Friday report, Pelosi was back to making a number of notable moves in the stock market in June, including “investing millions in Nvidia Corporation” while selling “large quantities of Visa and Apple stocks and call options,” The Epoch Times noted, citing a disclosure from the Speaker, a California Democrat.
The outlet reported:
According to the filing, Paul Pelosi exercised 200 call options, or 20,000 shares, of Nvidia at a strike price of $100 and expiration of June 17, 2022, worth between $1 million and $5 million.
On that same date, her husband also sold 50 call options in Apple at a strike price of $100, with the transaction listed with a value of between $100,000 and $250,000.
Call options are a contract between a buyer and a seller to purchase a certain stock, bond, commodity, or other assets at a certain price up until a defined expiration date.
Paul Pelosi is a financier whose estimated wealth is north of $100 million. He also sold 10,000 shares of Visa that were worth between $1 million and $5 million on June 21, the filing by his wife noted.
Earlier in June, Nancy Pelosi disclosed that Paul bought options to purchase shares of Apple Inc. and Microsoft Corp. that were worth nearly $2 million. Paul owns an operates a real estate and consulting firm based in San Francisco.
But it was the shares in NVIDIA, one of the biggest semiconductor manufacturers in the world, that got attention.
“It certainly raises the specter that Paul Pelosi could have access to some insider legislative information,” government affairs lobbyist for the left-wing think tank Public Citizen, Craig Holman, said to the Daily Caller News Foundation. “This is the reason why there is a stock trading app that exclusively monitors Paul’s trading activity and then its followers do likewise.”
Nvidia is a multinational corporation that designs and manufactures graphics processors and other technology, and is heavily reliant on semiconductors. The House passed a bill in February that included $52 billion in domestic subsidies for the semiconductor industry, and chip companies, including Nvidia, demanded Congress in June move forward on finalizing semiconductor subsidies for domestic manufacturing.
“The conference is stuck. And so it seems to me there are a couple of ways out of this, potentially,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell Tuesday, noting that the bill would have a better likelihood of passing without the $52 billion funding for semiconductor manufacturing.
Republican South Carolina Rep. Ralph Norman told the DCNF the “optics” of Pelosi’s stock disclosure “are horrible.”
“Obviously Speaker Pelosi would be aware of the timing of this legislation over in the Senate,” said Norman. “On the heels of that vote, for anyone in her orbit to purchase seven-figures worth of stock of an U.S.-based chip manufacturer just reeks of impropriety.”
In late May, Paul Pelosi was arrested for DUI, with his attorney issuing a statement shortly thereafter.
“Several news reports about Saturday night’s traffic incident involving Paul Pelosi have included incorrect information,” the attorney said. “Mr. Pelosi was attending a dinner party at the home of friends near Oakville.”
“He left that party at 10:15 PM Saturday, to drive to his home a short distance away. He was alone in his car,” the statement continued. “After stopping at the intersection of Walnut Drive and Highway 29, and proceeding across Highway 29 to Oakville Cross Road, his car was hit on the back fender by a Jeep heading southbound on Highway 29.”
The attorney went on to say that Pelosi was “fully cooperative with California Highway Patrol officers” and that “a prior driving offense erroneously attributed to Mr. Pelosi is untrue and likely refers to another person with the same name.”
“There are also incorrect reports that misstate the timing of events,” the statement concluded. “Mr. Pelosi left the dinner party at 10:15 PM Saturday. The incident happened a few minutes later. CHP and Napa County processing took until 7:30 AM Sunday.”
