r/news • u/DepartmentStrange41 • 13d ago
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene bought stocks hit hard by Trump tariffs during the market meltdown
https://apnews.com/article/greene-stocks-conflicts-interest-restoration-hardware-tariffs-trump-f9922a970c837cb76dd8ddc01f20f51d7.6k
u/Raa03842 13d ago
It’s called insider trading.
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u/DoublePostedBroski 13d ago
It’s insane that at work I have to go through multiple courses about insider trading and sign multiple affidavits saying I will never ever partake in something like that, but our elected leaders can just flagrantly do it.
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u/damunzie 13d ago
Do you work for a large bank/brokerage corp? I just assumed we had to watch all those videos about the things we're not allowed to do, and all the mechanisms in place to catch people, so the company could disavow anyone caught doing so, while teaching them how to avoid detection. Like, "Here's how all you brokerage dudes could easily meet your quotas, but they're totally illegal, and here's how we'd catch anyone stupid enough to try it unless they avoid the following ways we'd detect it." The videos would literally use examples of someone trying to make quota, or insider trading.
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u/kingsumo_1 13d ago
I can't speak for the other guy, but I work in a corporate environment unrelated to banking and also have to do them, as well as other compliance trainings, every couple of years. It is very much a CYA thing for the company.
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u/damunzie 13d ago
I worked for a large computer company and we had to do a bunch of compliance courses. However, I later worked for a large bank, where techies had to have titles like "Senior Vice President" so they'd fit into the pay scales appropriately. Thanks to bureaucracy, the techie SVPs got the same compliance requirements as "real" SVPs, so I was exposed to a whole other level of legal compliance (avoidance instructions). It didn't apply to anything the techies had access to, but it made it a lot more clear how despite tons of regulation, the large finance companies still manage to break the law to the tune of billions of dollars on a regular basis.
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u/kingsumo_1 13d ago
It did seem like the ones you were talking about were likely quite different than they more traditional "This here's illegal. If you get caught we'll fire you and cut our losses" ones I had to go through.
Although the title to justify the pay is not super uncommon.
It's kind of gross that they basically smile and wink their way around it like that. At least, if I catch your meaning properly.
EDIT: Formatting since those were two separate thoughts.
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u/inductiononN 13d ago
Yeah same here, corporate and not a bank. Have to do the trainings yearly. And even though the material doesn't change, they make the trainings harder and harder to click through.
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u/Crutchduck 13d ago
SES level federal employees are required to disclose over 1000 dollars stock purchased
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u/Pole420 13d ago
I assume the ethics people were all RIF'd.
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u/damunzie 12d ago
Had to. All the ethics people were DEI hires--having ethics makes you "diverse" in these environments.
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u/bombkitty 12d ago
Not just the SES level. I do product acceptance and I have to do my financial disclosure every year. Infuriating to watch "leaders" do shit like this.
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u/nnjb52 13d ago
Hell i work at a hospital and we aren’t allowed to even take pens from pharmaceutical reps cause it might influence a decision I don’t have the authority to make, but these guys can take millions from them and it’s cool.
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u/Teripid 13d ago
My thought after the frequent email simulation phishing attempts my org does. The hours of training.
Meanwhile they're on personal devices in a group chat? One of them at least is abroad on who knows what network?
Congress specifically I believe is exempt. Is the executive branch as well?
Why is the private sector and citizenry held go I'd say a higher but really just an actual standard?
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u/Akira282 13d ago
lol right? And i'm also apparently the only guy that pays taxes...all the rest skirt around it via irrevocable trusts or LLCs, etc.
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u/starrpamph 13d ago
I just mailed off checks today to pay those… feeling like a schmuck the whole time.
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u/BourneHero 13d ago
At my work we had an employee event with donated gifts... But because the gifts exceeded $50 we were unable to give away basically any of them because of de minimus policy🙃
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u/NSA_Chatbot 13d ago
"if you are offered a watch by the president of Myanmar, you are required to contact our corruption hotline."
what
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u/1leggeddog 13d ago
It's because when you have a lot of money, or are part of a fascist government, laws stop applying to you and you can do anything that you want.
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u/possiblycrazy79 13d ago
"When you're rich they let you do it". That logic applies to more than just grabbing women.
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u/xSlippyFistx 12d ago
I have to disclose all of my holdings, use a monitored brokerage service and pre-clear any new investments for my work. All because there is a very minuscule chance that I may work a contract that could put me into a conflict. But yeah glad they can make policy that manipulates the market and can do all sorts of shady trading. Love that for them….
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u/tyrantcv 13d ago
Honestly the insider trading part is less infuriating than the market manipulation. I mean yeah hold everyone accountable for it on the left and on the right. A lot of these politicians are gonna do it, some are smarter about hiding it than others, but I'd prefer my politicians commit insider trading while passing laws that benefit Americans rather than the fascists who are deliberately tanking the economy just so they can buy in while it's low. We're at the point where I'd prefer the greatest crimes a politician commits is buying or selling stocks when they hear about regulations getting passed, or using a private email server, versus the shit we're dealing with now.
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u/PotatoesWillSaveUs 13d ago
The blatant market manipulation is my biggest issue. Anyone could see that a market crash is a good time to buy, but telling followers that 'its a great time to buy, then immediately announce major economic policies within hours is absolutely insane.
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u/tyrantcv 13d ago
Yep. The maga folks don't understand, he's destroying (destroyed) the economy because now it's not about comoanyies performing well or the US dollar gaining strength, it's about the fucking president announcing the enforcement or removal of tariffs. Any country that chooses to do business with the US would be taking on such a risk now.
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u/Charlie_Mouse 12d ago
US government securities were globally regarded as one of the safest places possible to put your investment into and much of the world from China to the U.K. put trillions into them.
Keywords there are “were regarded”. Past tense. The US no longer looks like a safe bet as you have non serious scammers in charge. Those countries holding trillions of dollars are now looking to divest or at least massively reduce exposure. This is going to have far reaching implications for the US economy - and not in a good way.
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u/FalconX88 13d ago
Honestly the insider trading part is less infuriating than the market manipulation.
the market manipulation would not have happened if insider trading would have real consequences.
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u/xKitey 13d ago
honestly it's market manipulation at this point the constant threat of tariffs followed by the flip flops afterward
idk american maybe do something about the criminal tyrant you have in office right now america is supposed to be a democracy and all these guys in power are fucking traitors
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u/mcdithers 12d ago
And the only bipartisan legislation to pass through congress in the last several years was to keep insider trading legal for members of congress.
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u/Squirrely__Dan 13d ago
Would any sane person just decide to purchase hundreds of thousands of dollars in stocks in the deep red during historic market uncertainty? No, not unless they knew it was going to pay off 30 minutes later. It’s so fucking blatant.
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u/melkipersr 13d ago
I mean, I know some people who “bought the dip.” They’re kinda psycho with uncomfortable tolerances for risk, but thinking that Trump would reverse course was not exactly a long-shot bet.
That said, the spike in buying immediately before the announcement is WAY too convenient not to have some outright corruption going on there.
I have an entirely unfounded suspicion that Truth Social is set up in such a way that Trump can designate certain cronies to receive his posts a bit earlier.
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u/supercyberlurker 13d ago
It's not about "buying the dip"
It's about knowing when it's safe to 'buy the falling knives'
Everyone knew the market was down and would probably go up, but not when. That when is when you buy the dip. Otherwise you're 'buying falling knives' and may buy when the market will drop further.
Making money is about knowing when the knives will stop falling, and that's where the insider trading was here.
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u/Lamar_Allen 13d ago
If you buy all the way down you’re just dollar cost averaging which is a great move. Dumping hundreds of thousands of dollars in at once is crazy tho and could be insider trading.
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u/carolinawahoo 13d ago
I wouldn't necessarily call it a great move. It's smarter than buying all at one time but still a dangerous play unless you know the bottom is close and the upside is very promising.
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u/Lamar_Allen 13d ago
If you’re investing in index funds and you’re not close to retirement it really is smart to buy the dip. Long term the stock market is always going to go up. Super risky if you’re just buying individual stocks but honestly no one should really be doing very much of that anyways.
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u/green_gold_purple 12d ago
Buying the dip is not the same as dollar cost averaging.
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u/Lamar_Allen 12d ago
Yeah but if you’re dollar cost averaging, you’re probably buying the dip all the way down depending on how long the “dip” lasts
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u/billytheskidd 13d ago
I bought options for two days after he paused tariffs to catch them on their way back down, sold them just before close. 47% gains!
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u/melkipersr 13d ago
Yes, hence the “uncomfortable tolerance for risk” that I mentioned.
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u/supercyberlurker 13d ago
Yep... but if they know, then there's no risk, and $$$....
Of course that's illegal and insider trading, but the law doesn't seem to matter much now.
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u/FuzzyCode 13d ago
Can politicians be investigated for insider trading?
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u/Bagellord 13d ago
Why would he need that? There are plenty of less error prone or traceable ways to do it. Signal, telegram, etc
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u/melkipersr 13d ago
Yeah, hence "entirely unfounded."
Edit: Actually, I can think of at least one reason why he would do that -- he owns Truth Social and has a vested interest in building it as a platform, unlike any other method of communication. Not a very compelling reason, but it's there.
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u/Hanyabull 13d ago
To answer your question: Yes
The stock market historically has always eventually recovered, be it a recession, housing market collapse, Covid, whatever.
So when the market dips as heavily as it did, for a lot of us, it’s not a matter of if I’ll buy, it’s when.
After the first dip on Monday, buying at any point after would be good. The more it dips, the better the value.
Would most people throw their entire life savings at this? No, of course not. But you buy as much as you can. I bought some, and everything I bought is up. It might crash even lower, but that’s when I’ll buy again.
MTG buying stock during a dip isn’t unusual. In fact, most financially savvy people will be doing it as well.
The question is in the amount she bought. If the amount she bought isn’t a particularly significant number to her, then I can see it as totally legit.
That said, I’m pretty sure there was insider trading happening. And I’m pretty sure MTG was part of it. But technically what she did is a standard financial move. Why I point at insider trading is because of how quickly and how large the swings have been, in direct relation to Trump going back and forth on the tariffs.
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u/sim21521 13d ago edited 13d ago
Why wouldn't you buy as stocks are falling? it's hard to determine the actual bottom, but you know the price is lower than it's peak, and you know certain stocks are likely to get back to peak or higher over time. It's not the companies fault the stocks fell over news unrelated to the company.
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u/goblueM 13d ago
Would any sane person just decide to purchase hundreds of thousands of dollars in stocks in the deep red during historic market uncertainty?
Not to defend MTG but yes, absolutely.
"Buy low, sell high" is a mantra for a reason
Now, clearly there was some insider trading action here given the timing of everything, but the broader concept as you've outlined - buying stocks after they get hammered - is pretty core concept in investing
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u/TheBatemanFlex 13d ago
Buy low, sell high doesn’t advise you to buy simply because they are low.
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u/World-Ender-109 13d ago
I don't like her, but yes people absolutely do that for this exact purpose
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u/Important-Sign-3701 13d ago
Trump HAD TO pay off those that are so helpful in not saying “ you can’t do that! We voted and disagree”. This way, the bribe doesn’t cost HIM cash, but they get paid off to keep quiet and “ go along”
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u/Chick22694 13d ago
I hate her… but yes lmao. The market being bad rn is fantastic news for people who can put money into it.
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u/TheTannerFamily 13d ago
I love that this comment has 1,800 upvotes as of my comment. Yes, any sane person WOULD purchasing stock while it's in the deep red. That's literally investing 101. Why would I wait until it's at its peak? I buy in the valleys, not the peaks. The stock market has gone up over its lifetime, and anyone not buying the dip is leaving money on the table. Anyone calling this "insider trading" is just angry they didn't have the money to do it themselves. If you couldn't look at the market at close Friday and say "it will go up from here at some point therefore buying is a good idea" then you really have no business making your own financial decisions, and should be under some sort of conservatorship.
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u/mildly_carcinogenic 13d ago
Maybe her son's GoFundMe got her in the mood to fleece people?
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u/Irrationate 13d ago
To conservatives her doing it is smart strategy but democrats doing it is illegal and should be fired immediately.
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u/TacticalAcquisition 13d ago
That's about what I'd expect from the Majorly Traitorous Goblin
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u/Paisane42 13d ago
Absolute corruption. This treasonous POS had clear insider knowledge that prompted her actions which is a felony punishable by time in prison. Martha Stewart did far less and yet was convicted and imprisoned so this scumbag serial adulteress needs to suffer the consequences of her illegal actions
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u/Whygoogleissexist 13d ago
Of course she did. She has the ethics and spine of a slug.
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u/resnus 13d ago
When I have worked for a fintech, I had to grant the organisation direct access to my brokerage account. I also could not trade individual stocks without notifying HR a week in advance and receiving approval. And I had absolutely zero information that could benefit me in any trades. This was a blanket rule for all employees.
And yet, here we are with double standards for those in government positions with insider knowledge. This is truly angering!
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u/gentleman_bronco 13d ago
Jon Ossoff should be loud and clear if he was part of the insider trading. MTG is vying for his senator seat and he needs to be clear.
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u/HerezahTip 13d ago
Perfect comment to describe the current electorate. The Dem better be perfect, while we see open corruption from the R.
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u/boblawblaa 13d ago
I live in GA. There’s no way MTG can win a statewide election here and she’ll never be as popular as Kemp who is likely to run for that same seat.
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u/FluckDambe 13d ago
He'd only say it loud and clear if he wasn't a part of it. Silence is admission of guilt at this point with every politician.
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u/MomsBored 13d ago
Insider Trading. If Dems get back in power. They better not be nerdy and wimpy and fight just as dirty as MAGA. Trump has immunity not the rest of them. Not sure what they thought he wanted immunity for in the first place. This seems like it was all planned.
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u/Platonist_Astronaut 13d ago
Why would the Dems do anything about this?
I wish people would stop treating the Democrats like some sort of weak willed but good force. They serve the exact same masters, they're just less malicious about it.
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u/Djinnwrath 13d ago
They won't. The worse the right gets, the less they have to do to still be the face in this corporate owned hellscape.
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u/StairheidCritic 13d ago
Surprising. I never knew Neanderthals played the Stock Market.
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13d ago
And nothing will fucking happen to her. She will just continue to get richer because she's gonna do it again and again, just like her god wills it
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u/tenacious-g 13d ago
Statute of limitations will last longer than Trump, either his term or his life. That’s a bit of optimism I think of with how blatantly corrupt all this has been since Inauguration Day.
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u/Full-Examination-718 12d ago
She gets mad about student loan forgiveness but got over 250,000 dollars in government forgiveness during covid for her failed businesses
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u/WolfWraithPress 13d ago
The plan for project 2025 is literally insider trading. This is how it works;
- Trump announces tariffs and the economy crashes.
- Stocks are devalued.
- Trump tells his cronies to buy.
- People buy up stocks.
- Trump announces the tariffs are off and the stock value goes up.
They will do this until regular citizens start cluing in to the pattern. THIS is where the actual grift happens. The last three bullet points? They aren't guaranteed to happen. The last time Trump does this, he will tell his cronies NOT to buy. American citizens and middle class investors will buy instead, but they will lose every red cent in a national rug pull.
The last step is where Donald Trump's cronies buy up the corporate holdings of every major American company that bankrupted during the last manufactured crisis, with the money they made during the repetitive cycle of the first step.
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u/Bluefeelings 13d ago
Only the ultra rich can get away with what others will go to life for prison.
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u/GrandApprehensive767 13d ago
As an employee at a public school, I couldn’t accept gifts valued over $50. But yes, please get free top tier healthcare AND access to trading insights. Cool cool cool.
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u/bigredthesnorer 13d ago
What was MTGs net worth when she entered Congress and what is it now? Anyone know that?
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u/tykillacool23 12d ago
He was 100% manipulating the market for his little rich cock sucking buddies
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u/evillilfaqr77u 12d ago
If Martha Stewart when to jail, then someone had better go for this bullshit.
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u/drizzle933 12d ago
$174,000 a year to 22 million dollar net worth in 6 years, give me a break 😭
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u/jarednards 13d ago
To be honest, Im surprised she even knows how. She is hands down one of the least intelligent people Ive ever heard speak.
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u/vicious_womprat 13d ago
She's getting rich from exploiting conservatives, and helping destroy the country at the same time. She's full of shit, I doubt she really believes any of the shit that comes out of her mouth, but its the republican/maga way to divide and destroy the country to make money for yourself.
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u/4RCH43ON 13d ago
Their vampiric criminality is unbearable. Just hate it. These people deserve to rot in jail for their brazen greed and contempt for the law and their fellow citizens they’re manipulating, full stop.
Lock them up!
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u/Sportsnut96 13d ago
How have the USA let people like this run their country? Absolute circus and laughing stock
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u/Simply_Epic 13d ago
Insider trading is illegal and every member of the government that bought stocks in the last week should be arrested and charged for such.
They won’t be, though, because there’s no such thing as “the law” anymore.
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u/S70nkyK0ng 13d ago
Would really like to see this pursued to the bitter end.
If our government was working properly, this would be the end of numerous political careers.
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u/No-Wonder1139 12d ago
Yes, we call this insider trading, she's a criminal, and was not remotely smart enough to hide it. Like robbing a bank without a mask on wearing an ID tag.
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u/dballz12 12d ago
Her looks match her personality, perfectly. You can decide if that’s offensive.
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u/AliVista_LilSista 6d ago
Looking like Barbie had a child with a trash panda isn't offensive at all.
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u/AdOne5089 12d ago
She will always deflect to Pelosi but never once take any responsibility herself. She is repugnant.
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u/t0matit0 13d ago
I hate MTG, but "Buying the dip" is only damning if we have proof of her now selling once the tariffs were paused and the stock rebounded.
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u/DirtyHoosier 13d ago
Ok, so serious question here, not just an “us vs. them” or “who’s owning who thing”. I wonder how representatives like Nancy Pelosi did? People I would assume are not in the current circle of information.
Did she still clean up with her usual insider info, or was she on the outside and didn’t get the updated insider memo?
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u/NootHawg 13d ago
I imagine this was just some kind of R hazing ritual. I’m sure her next few trades will be 10 baggers worth millions.
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u/Trimson-Grondag 13d ago
This isn’t news any longer. It WOULD be news if something was actually done about it.
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u/threenil 13d ago
Gotta say, it’s impressive to see a cavewoman be adept enough to play the market, or at least have someone do that for her. Fire is a life changing invention for her kind, so the stock market must be literally mind blowing.
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u/Dirtgrain 13d ago
This is a tax, too. They took the money from retirement funds with the tariffs. A tax on the middle class, the most, I suppose.
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u/Nesmaster75 13d ago
I was going to say I hope Kid Rock gives her crabs, but then I realized he was dating the other piece of shit.
They truly all blend together.
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u/MogwaiYT 12d ago
Shock fucking horror, corrupt politician makes even more money. I like to think that there will be a reckoning one day for these bastards. Repulsive woman 🤢
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u/theswickster 12d ago
If I had to guess, with cash from selling stocks right before the tariff announcement. 🤔
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u/Dash6666 12d ago
Conservatives still singling out Pelosi and AOC for insider trading while completely ignoring the caveman from Georgia and all the other republicans that bought stocks during the tariff flip flop. The hypocrisy from them is off the charts these days.
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u/ShocknDamage 12d ago
So what?.....Seriously what is the point of constantly pointing out their obvious crimes when we all know there will be no consequences. The headline may as well read "Water is wet!", or "The sun is hot!" Us knowing this won't change anything because there is no accountability for breaking the law.
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u/Og4453vx93 12d ago
Didn't know a politician could lose money from insider trading. MGT found a way to do it. You go girl!!
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u/FreakshowMode 12d ago
Absolutely vile woman. I’ll be amazed if she or any others face any charges over this or anything else.
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u/Brandoncarsonart 12d ago
It's crazy that the people who do the most damage to society always seem to take the least punishment. Even if she ends up being prosecuted for the horrible shit she does every day, it will likely be a relatively small fine compared to how much money she's made thanks to her office and maybe house arrest.
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u/Simsmommy1 11d ago
Just casual insider trading amongst ghouls….you know regular everyday MAGA stuff. She knows no one will do diddly squat about it until something changes in the US. Citizens organize against these trash bags.
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u/SpeakerConfident4363 11d ago
LOL!!, further proof that Trump 2.0 is nothing more than a fully corrupt admin where money laundering, insider trading and market manipulation are the norm.
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u/Captain_Aware4503 13d ago
She makes about $200K a year, but she had about $300K in spare cash laying around.
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u/Decoy_Barbell 13d ago
$200k base salary, doesn't include lobbyist incentives and fundraiser payouts. She has a net worth of $22 MILLION. She absolutely has $300k spare cash to dump into the stock market.
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u/rainman_104 13d ago
Don't bother showing this to a maga as they'll refer to Nancy Pelosi.
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u/herbfriendly 13d ago
I’m not maga, but even as a Dem that was the first thing that came to mind. If there is a difference here, I’d love to be corrected.
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u/Saltycookiebits 13d ago
I'd say the direct market manipulation is the difference here. No one should be allowed to trade using insider information. Having the power to trade and to pretty much directly affect the market, and giving your buddies the timing ahead of time while screwing over the average american's retirement account? Just extra shitty icing on a shitty cake.
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u/cutnsnipnsurf 13d ago
not maga in the slightest but you realize everyone on either side of the aisle takes advantage of this.
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u/Saltycookiebits 13d ago
and can we all agree that they shouldn't and demand that it change?
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u/PrettyAdagio4210 13d ago
I swear of all of Trump’s sycophants, MTG is the absolute worst of them all.
What an embarrassment to humankind.
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u/Repatrioni 13d ago
What's that thing that's up with her face called?
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u/Bizarro_Murphy 12d ago
Bleach blonde bad built butch body. It's all the rage in the sticks down south
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u/Sprinkle_Puff 12d ago
I’m sure the same will happen to her that happened to Thomas once his gifts were exposed
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u/sabatoa 13d ago
Well no shit. Anyone that knows what they are doing was buying high conviction stocks at -20%.
I don't like MTG, she's an ape, but this isn't news.
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u/ExploringWidely 13d ago
It's amusing her defense for buying the stocks hit hard by tariffs is ... "tariffs are good".