[Free Beacon] Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D., Conn.) and his wife bought and sold shares of the stock trading app Robinhood while he called for Congress to investigate a controversial trading practice largely carried out on the platform.Blumenthal disclosed that he and his wife sold between $1,265,000 and $2,550,000 worth of shares of Robinhood in the last quarter of 2021. At the time, Blumenthal joined a chorus of lawmakers in calling for investigations into Robinhood's role in supporting a speculation frenzy involving shares of GameStop. Blumenthal did not probe the matter even though he was well positioned to do so as the chairman of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Protection.
Blumenthal's disclosures come amid debate on Capitol Hill over whether lawmakers and their spouses should be banned from trading stocks. Lawmakers from both parties have proposed bills to limit or outright ban stock trades. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.), one of the most prolific stock traders in Congress, endorsed a proposal on Wednesday to ban members from trading stocks. Blumenthal has yet to sponsor any of the bills proposed in the Senate.
Robinhood drew the attention of congressional investigators for its role in last year's "meme stock" craze. Speculators used the platform to inflate the share price of GameStop. It drew further criticism for blocking users from closing out their positions in GameStop shares.