Posting on X (formerly Twitter) about the sorry state of things in the United States Congress, particularly when it comes to stock trading amongst members of the national legislature, stock trading that appears to many to be rooted in insider information and political pull, former Congressman Matt Gaetz said he would expose evidence of corruption in the Swamp.
As background, numerous members of Congress have been called out for their apparent corruption. Particularly, former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) are frequently pointed at as examples of such a practice, as they routinely beat the stock market index. Numerous others, however, in the Democratic Party and GOP, manage even better returns than they.
Posting about the matter, an X account called “Quiver Quantitative” noted, “We posted this report on a suspicious purchase of Fair Isaac stock by a U.S. Congressman in May. $FICO has now risen 108% since the trade. Look at this screenshot from Quiver:” The screenshot said, “Representative Josh Gottheimer has disclosed a purchase of stock in Fair Isaac Corporation, $FICO. FICO is a credit scoring service. Gottheimer sits on the House Financial Services Committee. We’ll be watching this one.”
Quote tweeting that post, Gaetz said, hinting at the widespread nature of the stock trading problem, along with far worse crimes committed by those in the Swamp of Washington, “Stock trading is such a huge part of congress. It shouldn’t be. I can’t wait to tell all these stories of corruption, treason and betrayal. Coming soon.”
Replying, commenters on Gaetz’s post left messages like “Looking forward to you, Matt Gaetz, releasing the corruption, treason and betrayal you witnessed first hand. LET’S GO!” and “All members of congress should be banned from trading individual stocks. It dilutes the trust of the people, the markets, and governance when there are members of congress betting on outcomes they have the ability to control or have insider knowledge of.”
Gaetz had been picked by Trump to be Attorney General, but then withdrew from consideration when it appeared that it would be unable to push his nomination through the Senate. Commenting on Trump’s second pick, Pam Bondi, Gaetz said, “.@PamBondi is a stellar selection by President Trump for Attorney General. Pam and I worked closely together when she was Florida’s Attorney General and I chaired Criminal Justice in the state house. She’s a proven litigator, an inspiring leader and a champion for all Americans. She will bring the needed reforms to DOJ.”
When he withdrew, Gaetz said, “I had excellent meetings with Senators yesterday. I appreciate their thoughtful feedback – and the incredible support of so many. While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition. There is no time to waste on a needlessly protracted Washington scuffle, thus I’ll be withdrawing my name from consideration to serve as Attorney General. Trump’s DOJ must be in place and ready on Day 1.”
He then added, commenting further on Trump’s pick and next administration, “I remain fully committed to see that Donald J. Trump is the most successful President in history. I will forever be honored that President Trump nominated me to lead the Department of Justice and I’m certain he will Save America.”
Watch Speaker Mike Johnson defend Gaetz
