Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi responded sharply to questions about insider trading allegations during an appearance on CNN's "The Lead with Jake Tapper." Host Jake Tapper asked Pelosi about former President Donald Trump's accusation that she became wealthy "by having inside information" and "making a fortune with her husband" through stock trading.
"That's ridiculous," Pelosi retorted without hesitation. "In fact, I very much support the stop [of] the trading of members of Congress — not that I think anybody is doing anything wrong. If they are, they are prosecuted and they go to jail. But because of the confidence it instills in the American people, don't worry about this. But I have no concern about the obvious investments that have been made over time. I'm not into it. My husband is, but it isn't anything to do with anything insider."
Following the interview, Pelosi has expressed support for the Honest Act, legislation initially called the Preventing Elected Leaders from Owning Securities and Investments Act. The bill's acronym, PELOSI, references the former speaker who has faced scrutiny over investment activities.
The New York Times reported in December that no concrete evidence exists showing Pelosi profited from her position, despite her husband's wealth increasing significantly during her time in office. A recent National Bureau of Economic Research paper analyzed politicians' stock trades and found congressional leaders outperformed other lawmakers by as much as 47% in investment gains. The research attributed this advantage partly to their influence on and knowledge of market-related legislation.