Biden’s Energy Secretary Violated Stock Disclosure Laws 9 Times Last Year

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm sold shares of stock 9 times last year between April to October, but did not disclose the sales “within the legally required 45-day window, according to federal disclosure documents”, reports CNBC.

The shares of stock were worth up to $240,000. A spokeswoman for Granholm blamed a “clerical error” saying the secretary paid a late filing fee. Granholm did not file any of the 9 disclosures until December after legal deadlines for all had passed.

The STOCK Act has been in place since 2012, which “expanded the accountability and reporting requirements for financial holdings, both for members of Congress and high-level employees of the Executive Branch like Granholm” reports CNBC.

“The news of Granholm’s apparent violations comes at a time when stock sales by public officials and members of Congress are getting a fresh look” reports CNBC. “During the past week, several members of Congress, both Democrats and Republicans, have introduced or reintroduced legislation that would effectively ban lawmakers and their immediate family members from actively trading stocks while the member is in office.”

According to an analysis by Business Insider’s Dave Levinthal published earlier this month, a total of 54 members of Congress violated the STOCK Act rules just last year alone.

CNBC reports on the suspicious behavior of Granholm:

When President Joe Biden nominated her to be his energy secretary, Granholm signed a detailed Ethics Agreement in which she agreed to give up part-time jobs at the University of California and at CNN, step down from several boards, and sell millions of dollars worth of stock.

On March 22, she reported 23 stock sales, many of them blue-chip companies she had more than $10,000 of shares in.

A few months later in May, Granholm filed more transaction reports detailing how she had exercised stock options in the electric bus and battery company Proterra and then sold all her shares, worth between $1 million and $5 million, on May 24.

But in between the March blue chip sales and the May Proterra sale, Granholm made 6 of the 9 stock sales that didn’t get disclosed until December.