Leftist media outlets pounced on Senator Rand Paul and demanded an ethics investigation after he allegedly failed to disclose that his wife had purchased stock in a COVID treatment maker named Gilead Sciences.
But the faux outrage by leftists who immediately launched into comparisons of Martha Stewart falls flat because not only was the report late due to an error in transmission, the Pauls made no money and, in fact, lost money on the deal. The Oklahoma Republican also moved to rectify the oversight immediately and did not try to hide anything.
The disclosure of the stock purchase should have been filed within 45 days. Though the proper paperwork was completed, it was not filed until 16 months later due to an oversight that kept it from being transmitted to the Senate records office. Paul’s wife purchased the stock on Feb. 26, 2020, with her own money, before the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic.
Gilead Sciences makes Remdesivir, which is an antiviral drug that treats Hepatitis C and is also used against infectious diseases. It has been used to treat COVID in the past. Former President Trump used it as part of his treatment in October 2020 when he was hospitalized after contracting the virus.
(Video Credit: WHAS11)
The Justice Department investigated a number of senators who sold stock shortly before the pandemic declaration. If Paul’s stock purchase had been properly declared, it is possible he would have been investigated as well.
In 2020, federal prosecutors investigated stock sales by Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC), Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK), then-Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA), and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA). The investigations ended without charges being filed but the left seized upon them. The Associated Press previously reported that Democratic Rep. Tom Malinowski of New Jersey repeatedly failed to disclose trades worth as much as $1 million in medical and tech companies connected to the pandemic response.
Democrats have accused Paul of insider trading due to the glitch in disclosure and are outrageously comparing him to lifestyle guru Martha Stewart. The two are not even close to being comparable but it doesn’t stop them from calling for an Ethics Committee hearing and an investigation.
In 2001, a biopharmaceutical company called ImClone came into play for Stewart when one of the founders of the company, Dr. Samuel Waksal, was arrested for advising friends and family members to sell the company’s stock before the FDA prepared to announce that they had failed to gain approval on one of their drugs.
During the investigations of ImClone, Stewart was found to have sold 4,000 shares of the stock she owned the day before the FDA decision was announced, avoiding a loss of approximately $45,000. The suspicious timing and the fact that she received the information about the stock through her stockbroker led to an investigation.
Stewart repeatedly denied any wrongdoing but was charged and eventually convicted of conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and lying to federal investigators. Stewart was not convicted of insider trading.
The Pauls had not bought any stocks in over ten years when Kelley Paul purchased the shares from Gilead Sciences and leftists are howling over it. She actually lost money on the investment and still holds the stock. It is not out of the ordinary for a U.S. senator or his spouse to buy stock in a publicly-traded company such as Gilead Sciences and nothing indicates the purchase was extraordinary.
But the over-the-top response from the left is, as Paul and Stewart’s names began trending on Twitter after the reports.
Hey, if it’s good enough for Martha Stewart…. https://t.co/5JqD6OqOCm
— JustKeith ❄️️ (@AUkeibro) August 13, 2021
Insider trader is ILLEGAL . Martha Stewart went to prison for her trading. Lock up Rand Paul and throw him out of Congress https://t.co/ihiZtdcnca
— wendy dorian (@wendy_dorian) August 13, 2021
Paul is a member of the Senate Health Committee which received a private briefing in January 2020 from Trump administration officials on the threat of COVID-19. The senator’s spokeswoman, Kelsey Cooper, told The Washington Post that the senator did not attend any confidential briefings about COVID-19. Following his wife’s stock purchase, he filled out the proper reporting form.
He just recently found out that the form was never transmitted according to Cooper. After conferring with the Senate Ethics Committee, he filed the supplemental report and an annual disclosure on Wednesday. Kelley Paul bought the stock two days after a top WHO official asserted that Remdesivir “may have real efficacy” in treating COVID-19 and three weeks before the pandemic was declared. The stock purchase was between $1,000 and $15,000.
“Last year Dr. Paul completed the reporting form for an investment made by his wife using her own earnings, an investment which she has lost money on,” Cooper stated. “In the process of preparing to file his annual financial disclosure for last year, he learned that the form was not transmitted and promptly alerted the filing office and requested their guidance. In accordance with that guidance he filed both reports yesterday.”
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was quick to attack Paul and cluelessly declared it was “absolutely wild” that members of Congress are allowed to buy and sell stocks.
It is absolutely wild that members of Congress are still allowed to buy and sell individual stock. It shouldn’t be legal.
We’ve introduced legislation to end the practice, but as one can imagine it’s a very uphill battle to pass.
This shouldn’t even be controversial though! https://t.co/lgtcASwCFz
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) August 12, 2021
It seems convenient that Paul is being attacked over what appears to be an error that could have happened to anyone. When he was made aware of it, he quickly moved to make it right. One wonders if it has anything to do with Paul being the loudest and strongest critic out there against masks and Dr. Fauci.
Watch the video that got Senator Rand Paul SUSPENDED from youtube here ⤵️https://t.co/rbDHynQYQR
— Conservative News (@BIZPACReview) August 11, 2021
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