CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin SLAMS Pelosi For Defending Members of Congress Trading Stocks: ‘Disgraceful’

CNBC anchor Andrew Ross Sorkin on Thursday slammed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s stance on whether members of Congress and their spouses should be banned from trading stocks.

This week, Insider published a series of reports from their months-long investigation into the investments by members of Congress and Capitol Hill staffers, which appear to violate federal conflict of interest law.

A reporter asked Pelosi on Wednesday, “Should members of Congress and their spouses be banned from trading individual stocks while serving in Congress?”

“No,” said Pelosi, who added, “We’re a free-market economy. They should be able to participate in that.”

During a segment on MSNBC Thursday, Stephanie Ruhle rebuked Pelosi.

“When you’re the CEO of a publicly traded company, there are all sorts of restrictions on what you can do. When you work in an investment bank, when you work as an investor, so many restrictions when it comes to personal investments,” she said. “But these people, lawmakers, these are policymakers – policies that directly influence the way business is done all over the country – how is this even remotely legal?”

Sorkin responded:

This was one of the most disappointing and, maybe to put it even less politely, disgraceful comments in views I have heard espoused on this issue and surprising given Pelosi’s views on many other issues. We have insider trading laws for a reason. CEOs, executives cannot trade. Members of the Federal Reserve now cannot trade.

And yet we are allowing our politicians, who do have access to inside information, they are often briefed regularly about all sorts of things that are about to happen and that they have a meaningful influence on what is about to happen and they are trading.

To the extent that politicians should want the public to trust them, this undermines every bit of trust. It goes to every worst expectation of corruption, and it’s not even expectation. It’s real!

“This isn’t about free markets. This is about having privileged information and using it to your own personal advantage … Even if you agree that the current laws make sense, that you should be able to buy and sell stock, the penalties are a joke,” said Ruhle. “You can make tens of millions of dollars with privileged information. And what’s going to happen? You’re going to get fined $200.”

“Nothing,” said Sorkin.

“Nothing,” replied Ruhle.

Watch above, via MSNBC.

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