Nancy Pelosi’s husband Paul quietly offloaded a chunk of shares in semiconductor giant Nvidia as a Capitol Hill vote looms this week on a controversial, $52 billion subsidy to chipmakers.
The Pelosis had been facing criticism over the purchases, as they were disclosed while Congress considers legislation offering billions of dollars in subsidies and tax credits to assist the U.S. semiconductor industry.
Paul Pelosi sold 25,000 shares or total worth of $4.1 million in Nvidia stocks at a loss. Paul took a total loss of roughly $341,000, according to the disclosure.
Drew Hammill, deputy chief of staff for the House speaker, told the DCNF:
“Mr. Pelosi bought options to buy stock in this company more than a year ago and exercised them on June 17, 2022. As always, he does not discuss these matters with the Speaker until trades have been made and required disclosures must be prepared and filed.”
“Mr. Pelosi decided to sell the shares at a loss rather than allow the misinformation in the press regarding this trade to continue,” said Hammill.
The DCNF first reported on July 14 that Paul bought between $1 million and $5 million worth in stock of Nvidia, one of the world’s largest semiconductor companies, on June 17.
According to a source familiar with the situation, the Senate will vote on a bipartisan competition bill Wednesday that delivers $52 billion for domestic semiconductor manufacturing.
Nvidia is a multinational corporation that designs and manufactures graphics processors and other technology and is heavily reliant on semiconductors. It and other chip companies urged Congress to finalize semiconductor subsidies for domestic manufacturing in June.
More details of this report from The Daily Caller:
After the DCNF’s report on Paul’s purchase, Hammill told Fox News the house speaker had “no prior knowledge or subsequent involvement in any transactions.”
“To be clear, insider trading is already a serious federal criminal and civil violation and the Speaker strongly supports robust enforcement of the relevant statutes by the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission,” the spokesman also said.
Pelosi was asked at her weekly press conference Thursday whether Paul has ever traded stocks based on information she provided him, to which she said, “No, absolutely not.”Pelosi and her husband have been roundly scrutinized by Republican lawmakers over Paul’s dealings. House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik said the Pelosis’ controversial dealings go beyond Paul’s “investment in domestic semiconductor chip manufacturing,” pointing to Paul’s stock options purchases of social media company stocks while the House speaker “slow walked potential legislation to rein in the power of Big Tech companies.”
Call options are contracts between a buyer and seller for a stock to be purchased at a defined price until a certain date, according to Fidelity Investments. Paul’s call option purchase expired on June 17.
Paul bought over $6 million in Nvidia call options in 2021, filings show.
Criticism around Paul Pelosi’s Nvidia stock purchases led to greater calls to crack down on insider trading in Congress.
This is not the first time Paul Pelosi has made news about his stock purchases. Over the years, he has made headlines for his multi-million dollar buys, specifically with technology companies.
Sources: TheDailyCaller, Fidelity, FoxBusiness
Leave a Comment