Donald Trump explains why Nancy Pelosi should be 'prosecuted' after husband Paul's $500K Visa stock trade
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Donald Trump has called for the prosecution of Nancy Pelosi, accusing her of insider trading related to her husband Paul Pelosi’s Visa stock transactions.
Trump made the remarks during a press conference at Trump Tower in New York, alleging that Nancy was aware of an impending Department of Justice (DOJ) lawsuit against Visa, which led to her husband selling a substantial amount of stock in the credit card company.
Donald Trump's allegations against Nancy Pelosi
Donald Trump claimed on Thursday, September 26, that Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul Pelosi, offloaded a large quantity of Visa stock shortly before the DOJ filed a lawsuit against the company.
The Republican presidential nominee suggested that Nancy may have tipped off her husband about the lawsuit, leading him to sell his shares ahead of the public announcement.
“Nancy Pelosi has a little problem because her husband sold their Visa stock – they had a lot of Visa stock – one day before it was announced that Visa is being sued by the Department of Justice,” said Trump.
According to financial disclosures, Paul sold 2,000 shares of Visa stock, valued between $500,000 and $1 million, on July 1.
Less than three months later, Visa was hit with a DOJ antitrust lawsuit, alleging that the company had monopolized the debit card market.
Trump implied that this timing was not coincidental, saying, “You think it was luck? I don’t.”
Paul Pelosi’s Visa stock sell and DOJ lawsuit timing
The stock sale of Paul Pelosi, who is a venture capitalist, came just before Visa's shares dropped significantly in response to the lawsuit.
Following the announcement of the case, Visa's stock closed down by 5.5%.
Emphasizing the timing of this sale, Trump said, “Nancy Pelosi sold vast amounts of Visa stock one day before the big lawsuit that we all read about a few days ago.”
He further suggested that the congresswoman should face legal consequences for the alleged insider trading.
“She should be prosecuted. Nancy Pelosi should be prosecuted for that,” said the 78-year-old former president.
Nancy Pelosi's office responds to Donald Trump's allegations
Denying any wrongdoing, a spokesperson for Nancy Pelosi asserted that the House Speaker does not personally own stocks and was not involved in her husband’s financial decisions.
"Speaker Pelosi does not own any stocks, and she has no prior knowledge or subsequent involvement in any transactions," the spokesperson told the New York Post.
What is the DOJ lawsuit against Visa about?
The Department of Justice’s lawsuit against Visa accused the credit card giant of illegally monopolizing the debit card market.
In a press release, Attorney General Merrick Garland stated, “We allege that Visa has unlawfully amassed the power to extract fees that far exceed what it could charge in a competitive market."
"Merchants and banks pass along those costs to consumers, either by raising prices or reducing quality or service," he continued.
"As a result, Visa’s unlawful conduct affects not just the price of one thing – but the price of nearly everything," Garland said of the lawsuit filed on September 24.
