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Eugene

(61,807 posts)
Thu Dec 13, 2018, 05:12 PM Dec 2018

Senate Armed Services chairman under fire for defense stock purchases

Source: Washington Post

Senate Armed Services chairman under fire for defense stock purchases

By Karoun Demirjian December 13 at 3:14 PM

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman James M. Inhofe (R-Okla.) scrambled to divest himself of Raytheon stock after reports that he bought more than $50,000 worth just days after pressing President Trump to increase defense spending to unprecedented levels.

The Daily Beast first reported that Inhofe’s financial adviser on Tuesday purchased $50,000 to $100,000 worth of stock from Raytheon, a major defense contractor — just two days after reports that Trump would be requesting a significant increase in defense spending that the senator advocated.

Inhofe said through spokeswoman Leacy Burke that the purchase was made without his knowledge by a third-party adviser, and that he had “no involvement” in the transaction.

“The Senator has called his financial adviser and they reversed, or busted, the transaction,” Burke said, referring to a Wednesday letter in which Inhofe instructed adviser Keith Goddard “to no longer purchase defense or aerospace companies as part of my financial holdings.”

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Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/senate-armed-services-chairman-under-fire-for-defense-stock-purchases/2018/12/13/3b633142-fee6-11e8-862a-b6a6f3ce8199_story.html

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Source: The Daily Beast

Sen. James Inhofe Bought Defense Stock Days After Pushing for Record Pentagon Spending—Then Dumped It When Asked About It

Ethics experts say the purchase underscores the moral hazard of lawmakers owning assets in areas of industry affected by legislation they are in positions to author.

Lachlan Markay
12.12.18 5:11 PM ET

Just days after signaling his support for unprecedented levels of U.S. defense spending, Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK), the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, reported purchasing tens of thousands of dollars of stock in one of the nation’s top defense contractors.

After The Daily Beast asked about the purchase, Inhofe’s office said the senator had contacted his financial adviser to cancel the transaction and instructed him to avoid defense and aerospace purchases going forward.


Inhofe, who took over the top spot on Armed Services after the death of Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) in August, has repeatedly pressed President Donald Trump to dramatically scale up the Pentagon’s annual budget, which currently stands at $717 billion. Last week, after Trump hinted he would like to scale back parts of that budget, Inhofe met with the president and Defense Secretary James Mattis, after which it was announced that the administration would seek even more defense funding: a record $750 billion in spending for fiscal year 2020.

News of that budget request broke on Sunday. On Tuesday, Inhofe’s financial adviser bought him between $50,000 and $100,000 in stock in defense contractor Raytheon, according to documents filed with Senate ethics officials.

-snip-


Read more: https://www.thedailybeast.com/sen-james-inhofe-bought-defense-stock-days-after-pushing-for-record-pentagon-spendingthen-dumped-it-when-asked-about-it
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Senate Armed Services chairman under fire for defense stock purchases (Original Post) Eugene Dec 2018 OP
K&R 2naSalit Dec 2018 #1
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