Rep. Trey Hollingsworth (R-IN), one of the wealthiest members of Congress, reportedly purchased up to $1 million worth of stock in a Canadian bank in September.
Hollingsworth bought anywhere from $500,000 to $1,000,000 worth of National Bank of Canada, Capitol Trades reported.
According to the outlet:
It seems that the Congressman picked the right moment for his trade as shares were trading at a 6-week low on September 1. Since then, National Bank of Canada stock soared by over 5%.
The Montreal-based bank is considered to be the sixth largest commercial bank in Canada that is serving over 2 million clients.
The National Bank of Canada stock purchase was reportedly the first trade Hollingsworth has made since the end of June, where he disclosed 14 different purchases of Owl Rock Capital shares in May and June.
In 2011, Breitbart News senior contributor and Government Accountability Institute (GAI) President Peter Schweizer rocked official Washington with his investigative revelations of insider trading by members of Congress. Left-leaning Slate hailed Schweizer’s blockbuster book on the topic, Throw Them All Out, “the book that started the STOCK Act stampede.” The bipartisan STOCK Act (Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge) banned insider trading by members of Congress and was signed into law by President Barack Obama on April 4, 2012. The legislation received overwhelming support from both parties. One of the main figures featured in Schweizer’s Throw Them All Out, then-chairman of the House Financial Services Committee Spencer Bachus (R-AL), announced he would not seek reelection after the book’s reporting. Indeed, Bachus was the only elected official the late Andrew Breitbart ever called on to resign. CBS’s 60 Minutes did an investigative report on Schweizer’s revelations that won them the Joan Shorenstein Barone Award for excellence in Washington-based journalism.
Hollingsworth, who sits on the House Financial Services Committee, is a frequent trader of finance and energy stocks. With an estimated net worth of nearly $75 million, Hollingsworth is the sixth wealthiest Republican in Congress, according to the Gwinnett Daily Post.
Hollingsworth, who did not seek reelection in the recent midterm election cycle, made headlines earlier this year after bragging about one of his top staffers leaving Capitol Hill to work on Wall Street.
During a House Financial Services Committee hearing, Hollingsworth gloated to Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan about his staffer Sruthi Prabhu leaving his office to go work for Bank of America.
“She is very, very excited,” Hollingsworth said about Prabhu’s departure from Congress for Wall Street. “I hope you will take good care of her and know and recognize the talent she has shown already in our office. I’m sure she’ll do the same at Bank of America.”
“We will do that,” Brian Moynihan responded. “And her father already works for us.”
Rep. Hollingsworth’s office did not respond to Breitbart News’ request for comment.
Hollingsworth’s interaction with Moynihan sparked outrage on social media, with many users criticizing the “revolving door” from Congress to Wall Street.
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics chief counsel Donald Sherman called the interaction “gross.”
“I was in the room when this happened and it was just as gross and wild in person as it is here.” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted. “People rightly discuss conflicts of interest of members of Congress, but lobbying of senior staff (who move on behalf of members + committees) is a huge part of the problem too.”
Jordan Dixon-Hamilton is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jdixonhamilton@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter.
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