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Live Hearing On Whether Insider Trading By Congress Should Be Illegal
Only in a banana republic would Congress be "forced" to hold hearings on whether to ban itself from illegal (for everyone else) insider trading. Which explains why below readers can watch precisely that, live from the house Committee on Financial Services.The legislation in question relates to bill H.R. 1148, the "Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act." We wonder how long until Congress manages to scuttle this latest effort to keep the playing field between the muppets and everyone else. After all, someone has to leak critical rating agency information (such as the FT's break of a key S&P leak yesterday, or Nancy Pelosi knowing weeks in advance that Moody's would not downgrade the US) to the media and/or trading entities.
From C-Span:
The House Financial Services Committee holds a hearing on congressional
insider trading. The committee will look into allegations Members have
enriched themselves through legal stock trades based on non-public
information.
Today's hearing will look at a bill that aims to prevent lawmakers from
using information they obtain through work to trade stocks. A form of
the legislation was originally introduced in the House in 2006. The
current bill is H.R. 1148, the "Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge
Act."
The House Ethics Committee sent a memo stating that members of Congress
may be liable as insider traders, whether they obtain nonpublic
information as part of their official duties or outside them.
A recent "60 Minutes" segment focused on financial transactions
involving House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), Democratic leader Nancy
Pelosi (D-CA) and Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-AL). All three have denied
wrongdoing.
WITNESS LIST
Panel I
- Representative Walter Jones (R-NC)
- Representative Louise Slaughter (D-NY)
- Representative Tim Walz (D-MN)
Panel II
- Mr. Robert Khuzami, Director, Division of Enforcement, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Panel III
- Mr. Jack Maskell, Legislative Attorney, Congressional Research Service
- Professor Donna Nagy, Indiana University Maurer School of Law
- Mr. Robert Walker, Of Counsel, Wiley Rein LLP
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Just a show for the sheep, nothing more
Kangaroo court for the win!!!
I hope that Congress finds Congress innocent of all wrong doing regarding insider trading.
Maybe we'll see Senators reviewing senator term limits next time to discover that they should do a study and examination on term limits.
The funny thing is that they still succeed in making each and everyone believe that this is a democracy... Ridiculous! This is a clear-cut Oligarchy much like Russia! Its actually disturbing how much Russia and the US have in common these days...
Both McCain and Levin, who indicated moments before that they would agree to passage of the measure by unanimous consent, voted against it in that roll-call vote.
Paul calls Senate’s bluff, kills terrorist detainee amendmenthttp://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/senate/196943-paul-calls-senates-bluff-kills-terrorist-detainee-amendment-
I might have no problem with Congress trading on inside information with the caveat that they are required to make public the details of each and every trade.
This is just shocking. Who would have thought that esteemed politicians would be involved in this atrocious conduct? The ONLY way to solve this is for Obama to put his foot down and say that ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. We need to create an ANTI-CORRUPTION department, full of smart regulators, to oversee the rest of the government and ensure that there is NO corruption whatsoever.
Nancy Pelosi. Wife of the millionaire who trades off her inside info. Then Pelosi gets to put on her best face of indignation when caught red handed by 60 minutes
i still wouldnt fuck nancy pelosi for all the inside information in the world !!!!!!
Because you're too busy blowing Newt?
Seasmoke....
You owe her one,She fucked you up the ass,the least you could do is offer to return the favor.
Do her till you sea smoke.
anti-corruption? corruption by definition is government intrusion into free markets.....an anti-corruption dept would inherently be corrupt
MDB, I think that at this point focusing on this is just an attempt to discredit the political class which is working over time to save the problems of the US. This is the work of anarchists, hacks and lunatics to focus on these little things. In the meantime, some dangerous people are accumulating Gold in an attempt to destroy the US dollar, those are the real criminals and they should be prosecuted for their actions. Those people take advantage of the misery of the honest citizens putting their faith in the dollar the Fed and the Government, those people are a threat to national security and for their action, their Gold should be confiscated, as per the people in the Congress, the inflation plight which affecting the country could not have been forseen and those people are just trying like everyone else trying to make ends meet, who could blame them for that? The Gold owners are the real threat, who do they think they are to try accumulate power and money at the expense of others, the central bank?
You should be tried for treason.
I'd like to see a retraction of the disparaging remarks regarding lunatics.
123129...
Fuck you you piece of moldy shit.
Get off your fucking knees.
...sigh...look, as an NSA employee you should understand that next year they won't need you. They won't need any of your spook friends.
The squid has other plans for "patriots" for yourselves. At least you and I and everyone here should be properly destitute by the end of next summer.
Good luck "patriot".
Quite right. It's just that I hate to see corruption in government, however insignificant. But I know that the vast majority of politicians are caring and honest people, or they never would have been elected in the first place.
;-D
Are you trying to be funny or are you trying to be cute?
/sarc
There fixed.
Oooh! Now, even the trolls are getting trolled! :>D
Thats called the CFTC we have one dunb ass troll.
When backed into a corner just change the rules!
What a fucking charade.
True, but the Russian news media does far less white washing than our own....CNBC has far out done what Pravda used to foist off as 'news' during the "cold war".
Congress needs a working moral compass for Christmas.
www.pmbug.com
It's called a shovel, and only works when placed on the head.
It also works if you attempt to cram it into their mouth.
Well, this isn't a 'Blue-Ribbon Panel,' so you know that this is just for show, and we're SOL.
Presbycusis, the progressive loss of ability to hear high frequencies with increasing age, begins in early adulthood, but does not usually interfere with ability to understand conversation until much later. Although genetically variable it is a normal concomitant of aging and is distinct from hearing losses caused by noise exposure, toxins or disease agents. Thanks.
Regards,
Click Here
Survival skills were necessary for the sake of both self and community, food needed to be harvested and shelters needed to be maintained. There was little privacy in a community, and people were identified by their social role. Jobs were assigned out of necessity rather than personal choice. Thanks a lot.
Regards,
Fitness Tips
The implement and enforce the law and provide services to the public, a government's bureaucracy, the military and police are vital. While all these organs of the state are creatures created and bound by law, an independent legal profession and a vibrant civil society inform and support their progress. Thanks.
Regards,
debt management companies
And the room was packed full ?
ID SAY YES. LEVEL THE PLAYING field - http://hedge.ly/ukZfk0
Is this an Onion headline?
+1, Davey.
It's official, see how they got it called the STOCK Act?
There is a department in Congress just for naming shit correctly.
So, as a consultant to IAs, I have to freeze all activity in my brokerage accounts and/or get approval for all activity according to the IA's own compliance rules--otherwise I can consider myself fired.
Why can't the same rule apply to Congress?
akin to bedoun whore doing "background checks" on prospective "relationships" all while claiming not to be interested in $$$.
Some get what they deserve.....and some get free.......
There has to be a "hearing" to get rid of this shit. WTF.
http://vegasxau.blogspot.com
And people wonder why gun sales are going up.
The very fact we must "debate" this shit is unreal!
Just having the temerity to EVEN consider if this should be allowed tells anyone with half a cerebral cortex that Dorothy and Toto are still in Oz.
WHY, on God's green earth, should you or I go to jail, for this same thing?.
But, for them it's HOKAY?.
No wonder we are melted down like Fukishima.
Outside of this blatantly illegal practice for the Serf's, do they not have FAR more important things to be doing?,like zeroing their scopes?.
They need to, as I told my Rep, the barbarians are preparing to storm your gates,wake up!.
Banana republic it is.
Putting on my Banana hammock as a show of solidarity.
I wish that these losers could look past their delusions of grandeur and see how voters see them.
Seppuku on the spot.
The voters for years now have asked their politicians to steal from one who has earned and give it to you that hasn't earned. And now those thieving politicians are stealing and giving it to themselves comes as a surprise? You socialist could never see this coming, blinded by your own sick desires, which are the same as those you vote for.
If it makes you feel better to think that my 12-14 hour days somehow are worthless, then have at it. The market thinks otherwise.
I've never taken food stamps or any of the other fine handouts, nor have I ever received a bailout of any kind. I'm net postive in the earning as opposed to taking category.
Not intending anything negative toward you, nothing you posted suggested your view on this matter, but was merely expanding on your point about how voters will look at these corrupt politicians.
The very fact that this is even a question speaks to how far gone this nation and its corrupt governance has become.
In a state where corruption abounds, laws must be very numerous.
- Publius Cornelius Tacitus
Run by a muslim too.
you need salary increases, of course
This needs a hearing? Insider trading is illegal, isn't it? Well for the rest of us anyway...
First they will have a hearing to determine the necessity of a further hearing. Their first one failed because no one showed.
Just when you think this stuff can't get any more STUPID!!!!!! congress proves you wrong.
Let me save them some time..YES! WTF???
I remember the 1994 contract for America.
In it, they were to make the laws they pass apply to congress.
So here we are again. Observing the blatantly criminal congress in action.
Why would someone enter congress if laws actually applied to them?
Oh, I don't know.. Full pension plus medical bennies for life after two years of 'service', cushy lobbying job afterward, a little silver plaque somewhere with your name on it. And all they have to do is show up and say 'aye!' or 'nay' once or twice a month. It's rough up there on the hill.
The real issue isn't the members of Congress - whose holdings are frequently reviewed by the press, if no one else - but the members of staff, whose holdings are being reviewed by no one. And guess who really writes the laws?
How many staff members are on expert networks....maybe it would be more easy to count the number that are not?
Par for the course:
Somebody get caught.
Hold hearings.
Sound grave.
Debate legislation.
Pass legislation.
Don't mention next to last paragraph, middle sentence: "Not withstanding anything to the foregoing, such legislation shall not apply to any menber, relative of member, friend, acquaintance, recipient of such information or asshole buddy of any sitting or past member of Congress, in perpetuity, and any actions seemingly in violation of such are hereby considered having been made with impunity and automatically self-pardonable under the full force of law as may be determined from time to time by same individual."
golden knuckles
it's what they all deserve
Nah, gold is too malleable. Make 'em titanium.
Titanium is too light make em tungston
You don't need to be a genius to figure all these corrupt muppets are long pepper spray.
Fucking wonder why they're passing laws to stick anybody they deem a suspect of risk in the gulags?
You can tell where this is going by how many people are in the peanut gallery.
Zero !
WTF? Is that a debatable issue? What will we discuss next? Whether genocide by Congress should be legal?
Never mind, it's legal.
get your rope here! high quality rope here! high ratings according to nooseweek!
If this society was sane there'd be a debate on if we should hang the politicians or send them to the firing squad.
"We should make it illegal. And then hire someone who will never enforce it."
Just the fact that Congress is fighting to keep this benefit should tell the sleeping masses something !
Well, back to Oprah !
Why did gold and silver just get a boner?
Global fiat currency collapse, nothing to see here
Because millions of traders, across the western world, just instantly made the same decision at the same moment, across all commodities and PMs, to buy!
(Or that's apparently what we're supposed to grok from this.)
Something has been telegraphed.
Because Timmy had to go blow Benny for a while,so he is away from the computer terminal.
Another dog and pony show where congress gets to (by third party) air the 'reasons' why they can't be held to the same standards as everyone else.
Think about how many more bribes Congress will need to take if they can't retire off their illegal stock trades. I say let them do it, its the best option for the people...
The whole place smells of vinegar and water
The only similarity between our present day Congress and our Founding Fathers is that our Founding Fathers fought against people like this!
Our present day Congress thinks the only thing good about those days was people could have slaves
The original 13th amendment to the US Constitution would have rendered many of our legislators throughout the past 150-plus years ineligible.
Go look it up for yourself. I'm busy.
All you have to do is get creative with your definition of "duly convicted."
yea yeah yeah, and a crazy "republican" will put thrown on a Tax Cut Amendment, or a sycophant "democrat" will put a tax hike on there, and after hours of echo chamber interviews extolling the virtues of their respective amendments the whole bill dies, and Congress can go on insider trading.... shocking, I know.
Can't wait to see this vote. 533 to 2 (RP and RP)
Sheeple show!
how about a hearing to put an end to congress expempting itself from all the laws it passes for the country and perhaps even holding themselves to a higher standard in every regard.
sorry, was dreaming for a bit, how about we just end world hunger - that would be a lot easier.
Solution to END WORLD HUNGER has already been proposed...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0q4o58pKwA
just another reason I've never been east of the mississippi
the financial system is totally dependent upon rampant criminal fraud - else the money supply will "collapse" - the political class spent the 80s, 90s, and 00s corrupting the "public interest" so that the public would go along with all the fraud and corruption. now that everyone has been made a criminal co-conspirator - and no one wants to see their pension assets or retirement funds go "poof" - we are enthusiastically looking for ways to extend and augment the criminal fraud.
Mission Accomplished! Where's a flight suit that fits traitors?
WETHER....SHOULD be illegal
http://www.stock-channel.net/stock-board/images/smilies/wallbash.gif
The very heading should be a massive wake up call to the sheeple that they are being fleeced daily
We should just let them!!! Follow the $!!!!...Full disclosure though...
I'd love if they had to release their positions daily. I'd just track what they did and head to the beach
Look at these people. They are society within a society. We need to vote these idiots out of office. "Public trust", are you kidding!
Congress is involved with insider trading? THIS IS AN OUTRAGE....oh wait...gotta go Keeping up with the Kardashians is on.
We obviously don't understand the importnant work that is done in order to keep the country running properly....Its not Gods Work but close.
My God, Maxine Waters, ask her about her husband!
In the days when our leaders wore powdered wigs this question would never have come up because the answer is far too obvious.
If Congress doesn't fix it, we'll need a Marat to accuse and a Robespierre and Danton to assure that some heads wind up in baskets.
heads do wind up in baskets....anyone trying to stop them. Wrong head.
Waters is asking these questions because she has these issues personally.
No kidding ... Sounds like she has a specific situation in mind/
Maxine is too dumb to understand any law- she usually has to have stuff read to her multiple times.......
Hell, that gorilla is still wondering whether the Mars Rover is going to find the American Flag that Neil Armstrong planted there...
@Normalcy Bias: No, you are referring to Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas, another mental giant.
Close though; Maxine is the one who went on a pro-abortion march saying she had to because her mother didn't have a chance to get one.
I stand corrected. Ha! They're essentially interchangeable though, aren't they?
Wait what?! The needed a hearing to figure this out?
My god, we are so screwed with these people.
Ha ha. No one laughed when that numb nuts congress critter told his "Tipper Gore / Tip Oneil" joke. Then he looks perplexed that no one laughed.
Calling Jon Stewart...
Mrs. Biggert "covered hopper"; these were tax avoidance schemes, you were leasing rail cars, when the Fed rate was 80% to 90% in the circa 60s/70s.
Insider trading by public officials has always been illegal. All forms of graft, bribery, collusion that compromises regulatory integrity are covered under existing law. The laws would be enforced, back in the days when the United States of America was a nation nof laws. Now, we have Corporatism in a new flavor. Anything goes, as long as the fix is in, with the pol8itically favored people.
http://georgesblogforum.wordpress.com/2011/11/02/the-daily-climb-2/
So "Common law " really just means it only applies to us commoners. I wish they would teach that in skool.
there are two ways to be become a millionaire
1. start a small business with multi millions
2. become a congressman
"A House committee on Financial Services"....????
I see.
So this is why Jon Corzine gets called in front of the "Agricultural Committee"
Cause the USSA has no "Financial Services Committee I guess..???
Too Fucking Funny.......
If it didn't make me puke...!
When the Congress does it, that means it isn't illegal.
wait a minute. a 'hearing' as to 'if'?!
The insider trading is just one issue.
Selling influence and access to the government is an even bigger problem.
Bill Clinton was getting 50,000 dollars per month from MF Global and John Corzine. No telling how much he and other ex politicians make selling "consulting" services which merely connect peoole to the right regulators and government officials who can do them favors.
No telling how much he and other ex politicians make selling "consulting" services which merely connect peoole to the right regulators and government officials who can do them favors.
Waitaminute, though...you're bringing the entire basis of our government into question with the implication there.
The only way for government to operate is if wealthy corporations and individuals can buy access to the law-making institutions. You want the asshole voters guiding policy?
That'd be tyranny of the masses and stuff. Remember--democracy is bad for business.
A modest proposal to help balance the budget: since these elected positions are obviously extremely valuable, they should just be sold to the highest bidder. We can then save all the campaign expenditures and generate a profit from what would normally be an expense. Furthermore, we would also have a better understanding of what these officials were actually motivated to do....things would be far more 'transparent'.
Obviously it is not just those elected making money on this 'insider' information....their staff members probably were participating in 'expert networks' and selling this info at a high price.
some congressass will argue that continuation of the present policy is a matter of national security that cannot be revealed and should be hidden from the public.
Seriously, when do we get to hang these mother fuckers!?!?!?!?
While they're at it, even if for show, how about the outlawing the whispers from the Fed to select members on Wall Street just before they take action? Though for show, if it's written in law, at some point later, someone could bring an action that would at least embarrass someone, though maybe not shame them or drum them out. Anyway, we can hope can't we?
:-)
,,The Beacon for Freedom, Democracy, and Capitalism,,,LMAO,,,
About one hour and eight minutes into the Senate hearing on insider trading http://www.c-span.org/Events/Congressional-Inside... I think it might have been Robert Walker who told congress why blind trusts are not a workable solution to insider trading. These kinds of trusts cost a lot of money. “They are only blind is so far as .. they are not blind what you put into them initially, they are only blind if you put in cash, or after a period of time the assets are sold down to a particular level, then you are notified that you do not have those any more.”
So a congressperson can know what is in the trust and legislate to that end. Who exactly is monitoring the communications between the trust owner, and the trust management, who me having thanksgiving dinner together?
Anyone with half a brain can get around a blind trust. One side of the party is a public figure that can communicate on TV to the trustee with words or gestures, when changes are likely to occur. Who are you going to get to manage the trust?
The whole concept of a blind trust with a public figure must be some kind of a joke. The way to catch congressional insiders is to have real time electronic disclosures of securities trades. Congress constituents can send them back to Washington, or throw them out. If they fail prompt disclosure like corporate insiders, put them in cuffs. The pursuit of quality information is merely a good business practice, the crime that can be easily proven is failing to disclose.