Newsmax: Abramoff: Lawmakers Took Part In Insider Trading

Let me be perfectly honest that I am sick and tired of the corruption on both sides of the aisle.  We don't elect members of Congress to go to DC and become rich.  They are there to do the business of the American people which means whether they like it or not they work for us.  Now we are learning that a "dozen lawmakers and congressional aides allegedly took part in insider trading" and Abramoff is not divulging who they are.  Abramoff said  "lawmakers were able to trade ahead of time knowing whether companies were going to be subject to investigations before they occurred."  What kind of people were elected to Congress along with aides who they hired that would use this knowledge to trade stocks?

If these people are still in Congress, they need to come forward, apologize, say they are not running for re-election, and donate every penny they made to charity.  In fact, they should resign immediately as they used their position to make money on information that was only available to them and their aides. If they have retired or left Congress then they need to come forward, apologize, and donate money to charity that they made.  It is unforgivable that they made money from the stock market off of the knowledge of Congressional hearings.

Abramoff: Lawmakers Took Part In Insider Trading
Friday, 11 Nov 2011 02:26 PM
By Forrest Jones 

0About a dozen lawmakers and congressional aides allegedly took part in insider trading, bragging how about they were beating the market, claims disgraced former lobbyist Jack Abramoff. 

Abramoff, who went to jail for his role in a corruption scandal, said those involved traded as little as $2,000 and as much as well into the six figures. 

He didn't name names. "It was more, 'Look at me, I'm a real great stock trader,'" Abramoff tells CNBC. 

"All of a sudden somebody from a background maybe in law, maybe in some other unrelated business area, all of a sudden is picking winners and losers in the market."

It seems those in Congress aren't necessarily subject to insider trading laws, however. Legal analysts say insider trading laws tend to target Wall Street firms. 

But according to Abramoff, lawmakers were able to trade ahead of time knowing whether companies were going to be subject to investigations before they occurred. 

"Hearings under almost every circumstance are going to have a bad impact on a company," Abramoff said. "And so some staffers I've seen in the past talking about the fact that, 'Oh, I'm gonna go out and short that company.'" 

Insider trading has grabbed headlines recently on the heels of hedge fund manager Raj Rajaratnam's conviction and 11-year sentence. 

The former financier must now pay $93 million in civil penalties, the Los Angeles Times reports.
"The penalty imposed today reflects the historic proportions of Raj Rajaratnam's illegal conduct and its impact on the integrity of our markets," says Robert Khuzami, enforcement chief at the Securities and Exchange Commission, the LA Times adds.

Read more: Abramoff: Lawmakers Took Part In Insider Trading

Then we have this from The Huffington Post with more details on the Insider Trading by members of Congress and their aides:

Disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff recently revealed that several lawmakers have bragged to him about insider stock trading. 

Abramoff said in an interview with CNBC that as many as a dozen congressmen informed him of insider trading. Both the congressmen and their aides allegedly took part in stock trading based on foreknowledge of market-moving information on Capitol Hill, according to Abramoff. 

Abramoff said he heard these confessions at Signatures, the exclusive restaurant he owned on Pennsylvania Avenue before a corruption scandal landed him in prison for three years. He said the lawmakers -- who he chose not to name -- earned anywhere from $2,000 to as much as "several hundred thousand dollars" based on insider knowledge. 

"It was more, 'Look at me, I'm a real great stock trader,'" Abramoff told CNBC. 

Because Abramoff never played the stock market himself, he said he wasn't fazed by the bragging. 

"I was making far more money than they were, so I wasn't as impressed as perhaps they thought I'd be," he said. 

Abramoff said it's "widely known" insider trading is a common occurrence in Washington. The former lobbyist has been making the rounds in recent days promoting his new book, Capitol Punishment: The Hard Truth About Washington Corruption From America's Most Notorious Lobbyist.

This is an absolute disgrace and these Congressman/aides need outed now and need to resign if still in Congress.  Most Americans are tired of what they are seeing out of Congress on a daily basis.  Their inability to work together is frankly getting annoying and now I blame both sides.  The fact that something is best for the American people is lost on a lot of members of Congress on both sides of the aisle.  This 'my way or no way' we are seeing is beyond belief out of both Democrats and Republicans.  No one has all the answers but some members of Congress are way too arrogant for their own good.

Then there is the flip side which we have been fortunate enough to observe in one of Freshman members of the House from Oklahoma:

He is our citizen legislator, James Lankford, who has impressed most of us more than anyone we have sent to Congress since Dr. Coburn.  You won't find a harder worker or more honest person than Cong Lankford.  He is there to represent his district and the people of Oklahoma and frankly fits into the mold of Allen West and others in Congress who are there to make America a better place for everyone.   They vote what they think is best for their constituents and America not how some national group tells them to vote.  

Shame we don't have more like them who are not grand standers but want to make a difference.  Both men spent time learning what the job of a Congressman was and didn't rush in with the idea they knew it all.  We need more of those citizen legislators who represent us, the American people because they are one of us.

It is time that every member of Congress needs to look in the mirror and ask themselves if they are working for the American people or to advance their own career and obtain more wealth.  If it is the latter, then they need to not run for reelection and do something else instead of using Congress for financial gain or selling out to lobbyist.