FOLLOW US

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi received backlash for a massive stock purchase of Tesla that came only weeks before President Joe Biden stated his intention of making the federal vehicle fleet entirely electric.

“It’s corrupt and unacceptable for members of Congress, particularly the speaker, to trade stocks in companies affected by their votes in Congress,” said John Pudner, the executive director of TakeBack.org, according to the The Washington Times.

Paul Pelosi, Speaker Pelosi's husband, placed a bet of up to $1 million on the future of Tesla, Inc. under the Biden administration.

Concerns arose as Speaker Pelosi likely has insights into Biden's plans for the industry, which are expected to include credits and incentives to promote the shift away from traditional vehicles.

"The disclosure forms clearly indicate these investments were made by Mr. Paul Pelosi not the Speaker," a spokesman for Speaker Pelosi's office told FOX Business in a statement. The letters  "SP" listed under owner indicate the purchases were made by a spouse.

Paul Pelosi, who runs a real estate and venture capital investment and consulting firm based in San Francisco, did not break any laws by making the purchases as these types of transactions occur frequently.

Spouses of members of Congress are allowed to own shares of companies in industries of which their significant others may help regulate, but under the STOCK Act they are not allowed to act on nonpublic information. The same goes for the Congress members themselves.

Paul Pelosi did not immediately respond to FOX Business’ request for comment.

“The problem is there are a lot of things that any congressperson could do behind the scenes to positively influence Tesla [shares], such as stalling legislation and putting forth legislation,” said Aaron Hill, professor of management at the University of Florida. “A lot of this is just documented in committee meetings, so it really raises the specter of double-dealing or certainly conflict of interest.”

Nancy Pelosi is not alone in being scrutinized. Other  members of Congress have raised some flags for certain financial transactions.

Federal prosecutors earlier this year opened investigations into four Senators who themselves or their spouses sold investments right before the S&P 500 crashed 34% in February and March in anticipation of the economic damage that would be caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Paul Pelosi purchased 25 call options between $500,000 and $1 million. These options give Paul Pelosi the right to purchase up to 2,500 shares of Tesla at a price of $500 each before March 18.