Democrat Suozzi’s $50,000 share sale took advantage of a loophole in Congress’ disclosure rules

However, it is worth noting that Suozzi’s March 31st sale of Global Industrial Co. stock worth up to $50,000 is notable for that. Lawmakers have never publicly disclosed that they own shares, prompting the question of how they cannot sell security that they don’t own first.

answer? Suozzi simply did not disclose his Global Industry Co. stock, which he obtained more than two years ago, due to a clear loophole in federal law. luck Review of federal documents and interviews with government officials.

Suozzi’s mysterious stock trading comes when a bipartisan coalition of Congress is upset by banning Congressional lawmakers from trading completely. They quote them I consider it abuse of the Financial Disclosure Act, known as a suspension transaction under the Parliamentary Knowledge Act. Media reports say Suozzi violated the stock law disclosure provisions on four different occasions this decade ago.

House speaker Mike Johnson (r-la.), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (Dn.Y.), and even the president Donald Trump As a rule, we provide support for the council Stock trading prohibited.

Suozzi’s council office said luck The lawmaker did nothing wrong by not yet reporting his global industrial stock ownership, claiming he followed Congressional rules that were applied to him when he last filed a mandatory personal financial disclosure in 2024.

“Rep. Suozzi is fully adhering to the rules of the home’s ethics,” Sutzi told Matt Fried’s chief. luck.

Suozzi’s latest stock Saga began in June 2023.

According to that month, Securities and Exchange Commission recordsSuozzi received unlimited unpaid shares worth $50,000 in Global Industrial Co., but after leaving Congress earlier that year, he served as the company’s “non-management director.” Failure Campaign for the Governor In New York.

Later that year, Suzzi decided to run for a special election for a seat in New York’s Third Congressional District. I was exiled In the federal criminal charges he later said Covronvected Consentence for over 7 years.

When Suozzi submits financial disclosure reports for mandatory candidates January 12, 2024he did not disclose the inventory of Global Industries Co. He also did not disclose it in two subsequent financial disclosures. August and September Three financial disclosures applied in 2023 to Szzi’s personal financial activities after he won a parliamentary seat in February 2024.

When Suozzi submitted his personal financial disclosures in January 2024, Fried explained that Suozzi’s Global Industries shares were “unrighted and of no value.” House Committee on Ethics and Financial Disclosure Rules at the time Suozzi did not disclose his Global Industries Co. Stock Holding as Suozzi had not specifically addressed unpaid shareholdings, Fried said.

However, Suozzi’s shares in Global Industries Co. gave Suozzi’s financial disclosures and at some point between him on January 12, 2024. oath Fried told Congress on February 28, 2024.

Suozzi discloses his 2024 personal financial activities in a document that must be filed by August 2025, and shares of Global Industries Co. will be “reflected,” Fried said. In May, Sutzi requested and received it. 90-day extension To submit it, Fried said.

When the House Ethics Committee is released We updated our disclosure rules earlier this yearwhich included a new language that directly addressed the situation in which Suozzi found herself, but it appears that it has not been applied retrospectively to members of the Congress.

“If the value of a share exceeds $1,000 at the end of the reporting period, or if you earn more than $200 during the reporting period, you must disclose your participation in the restricted stock plan for yourself, your spouse, or dependents,” the House guidance reads. “We provide the name of the outstanding inventory (vselled stocks must be disclosed to another line item), value, type of income, and amount.”

Tom Rust, the House Ethics Committee’s chief advisor, declined to comment.

“These disclosure requirements are important because the sole member of Congress’s ethical obligations is willing to impose on them,” said Walter Schaub, Director of Ethics in the US Government. “If they ultimately pass a long-term stock trading ban in order to support the bedrock ethical principle of avoiding conflicts of interest, they don’t need to worry about these disclosures.”

2021, NPR It has been reported – Suzzi failed to properly disclose about 300 financial transactions, citing research from Campaign Legal Centre, a nonpartisan watchdog group.

Apart from that, Business Insider reported Suozzi – on three different occasions march, May and December 2022 – Violated the Stock Act by disclosing dozens of additional stock transactions past the federal deadline.

“Frankly, we’ve done a lot in Congress. I have a lot more. That’s not. Ethics is a big priority for me. I said Independence Office of Parliamentary Ethics in 2022 investigation Noting that of his stock trading practices, the financial adviser directed his transaction.

Unanimously the Council of Parliamentary Ethics reference Suzzi wrote to the House Committee on Ethics that there was “substantial reason to believe,” and Suzzi failed to properly disclose hundreds of individual stock transactions.

However, the House Committee on Ethics, which is composed by members of the Congress itself, unanimously Conclusion In July 2022, it was “not clear evidence” that Suozzi had committed a “knowledge or intentional” violation of the Stock Act. The committee refused to punish him.

In his second stint as a member of the House of Representatives, Szzi was member of the House Committee on how and means to be responsible for tax writing, profitable and other government financial functions. He also serves on the committee’s oversight and tax subcommittee.

Suozzi’s Chief of Staff Fried said Suozzi would support him. Bipartisans restoring faith in the 2025 government lawone of them Some A pending invoice that, if passed, prohibits or restricts individual shares trading by members of Congress.

On May 5th, Suzzi appeared: Co-sponsor It is also sponsored by a dozen other ideologically diverse lawmakers, ranging from Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (DN.Y.).

When Suozzi sold its shares in Global Industrial Co. on March 31, it was trading about $22 per share. This is down from about $27 per share when it was obtained in June 2023.

It is the only stock trade that Suozzi has reported what he has done this year after reporting only a handful of its last year.

“The House of Representatives pointed out that they will not buy or sell shares since the new term began in January,” Freed said. “This was his only trade. It was done to raise funds to pay his financial advisors a fee. This stock was sold because it was the only stock he had no capital gains.”

Dave Levintal I am a Washington, DC-based investigative journalist. Dave previously worked as editor-in-chief of Raw Story, associate editor of Business Insider, and editor or reporter for the Center for Public Integrity, Politico, Opensecrets and Dallas Morning News. He also writes for Atlantic, Time, Rolling Stone, Columbia Journalism Review, The Daily Beast, Notus and Ankler.