Richard Blumenthal Denies Owning Stocks Despite Multimillion-Dollar Stock Disclosure

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) denies owning individual stocks despite disclosing multimillion-dollar stock purchases to the Senate Ethics Committee.

Last month, Blumental claimed he did not own any individual stocks after reports revealed he allegedly violated the STOCK Act by failing to disclose his wife’s sale of close to $2.5 million worth of Robinhood stock in a timely manner.

“I own no individual stock nor had knowledge or control over any transaction involving Robinhood stock,” Blumenthal said.

However, Blumenthal’s recent disclosures to the Senate Ethics committee show an investment fund controlled by his wife’s family bought between $1 million to $2 million worth of shares in Amazon, Intel, Microsoft, and Google parent company Alphabet on January 31, shortly before denying he owned any stock.

The STOCK Act requires members of Congress and their spouses to disclose transactions valued at $1,000 or higher within 30-45 days. Congress passed the STOCK Act in 2012 after Breitbart News senior contributor Peter Schweizer released Throw Them All Out, which exposed corruption among political officials.

A spokesperson for Sen. Blumental said, “Senator Blumenthal owns no individual stock—including stock in Amazon, Alphabet, Intel, or Microsoft. He had nothing to do with these stock trades. Neither he nor his wife had any control over these transactions.”

However, Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust director Kendra Arnold says there’s no difference between him owning stock or his wife owning stock. “There is no distinction between him owning individual stocks and the family trust owning them, which is proven by the fact that he must disclose them,” Arnold said.

The Washington Free Beacon reported:

The Blumenthals purchased between $250,000 and $500,000 each of Microsoft, Amazon, Intel, and Google parent company Alphabet, according to disclosures filed on March 3. The trades were conducted through an investment fund controlled by Blumenthal’s in-laws, a wealthy real estate family in New York.

The holdings pose a potential conflict for Blumenthal, who serves on both the Senate Commerce and Judiciary Committees, which have worked on legislation related to tech companies. Blumenthal cosponsored a bill this year that would tighten regulation on some tech firms.

Several of the companies Blumenthal’s wife purchased stock in have contributed towards his reelection efforts, according to Federal Election Commission records. Amazon donated $5,000 to Blumenthal’s campaign in 2016. Microsoft has given Blumenthal’s campaign and leadership PAC $16,000 since 2017, and Intel donated $2,500 to his PAC in 2020.

“Anytime there is overlap between congressional business and personal financial investments, it raises serious conflict of interest concerns,” Arnold said.