Under Ethics Investigation, Malinowski Continues Aggressive Trading Practices

Tom Malinowski, a New Jersey Democrat, has continued to aggressively trade stocks despite an Office of Congressional Ethics investigation. The office began their inquiry in May to investigate Malinowski’s failure to report trading activity that showed him profiting off the pain caused by the pandemic.

Business Insider: Following Insider’s reporting in March, the Office of Congressional Ethics began investigating Rep. Tom Malinowski, a Democrat from New Jersey, for failing to properly disclose dozens of stock trades during 2019 and 2020.

This hasn’t stopped Malinowski from continuing to buy and sell equities this year, according to new documents he filed with the clerk of the House of Representatives.

Malinowski’s most recent trades, including bets on exercise company Peloton, follow activity during the Covid-19 pandemic that brought him under fire. While businesses and markets collapsed under the stress of the pandemic, Malinowski bought and sold as much as $1 million of stock in companies that had a stake in the response to the pandemic.

AP: When millions were out of work and markets were hemorrhaging, Malinowski snapped up securities at bargain prices — profiting when valuations recovered. In other cases, he sold shares before they fell substantially, according to the AP’s analysis of a list of trades that his office said he made in 2020.

He also engaged in the controversial practice of short-selling stocks, placing bets that the values of specific businesses would decline at a time when many companies were pleading with the government for a financial lifeline.

These aggressive trades, some of which were bets against American companies, followed comments by Malinowski in April 2020 criticizing anyone that would try to capitalize on the pain the pandemic was causing. Republicans immediately took their case to voters, declaring that Malinowski “broke the law and tried to hide it.”

Bottom Line: Tom Malinowski hypocritically profited off the pain the pandemic caused and then failed to file legally required disclosures detailing his trading activity. By continuing to aggressively trade stocks, he’s making it clear that he believes the rules don’t apply to him.