Placing bets on their own decisions..
More action is happening – now with the first case of investigation into congresspeople dealing in stocks while deciding things in committees.
From Pwire:
The Office of Congressional Ethics is investigating Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-AL), over possible violations of insider-trading laws, the Washington Post reports.
Bachus, who holds one of the most influential positions in the House chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, “has been a frequent trader on Capitol Hill, buying stock options while overseeing the nation’s banking and financial services industries.”
Well done.
I cannot believe true, die hard Republican(s) would stoop so low. Where are their priorities?
And finally getting caught!
There are a few more layers here though – it has probably been a deep culture of corruption if this was done wide in the open..
But it also undermines republican attacks on financial regulation – if it looks like they’re personally profiting from it.
And lastly,
there is this current the last months with prosecutions of crooks from the 00′s – which might indicate a power shift behind the scenes – and the good guys getting more clout.
And I’m looking forward to reading the “real story” about politics in 2011 one day, when the history books get the insider view of things.
If nothing else,
it seems like the president has learned a few basic things/skills about power brokering.