Rand Paul discloses 16 months late that his wife bought stock in company behind covid treatment. The STOCK Act gives the Justice Department the ability to bring criminal charges, but the bar is high. And the law caps civil fines at $50,000. In practice, violations are generally resolved min. $200
Rand Paul’s problematic stock trade

Senator Rand Paul admitted this week that he failed to disclose his wife’s purchase of stock in Gilead Sciences, the maker of a coronavirus treatment, in the early days of the coronavirus outbreak. The trade in February 2020 was small and not profitable. And there is no evidence it was made based on insider information gleaned by the Republican from Kentucky.

But the delayed disclosure, 16 months after the filing deadline, which Paul’s spokeswoman says was an oversight, again raises questions about whether stock trading by lawmakers and their families is properly policed.

The Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge, or STOCK, Act, passed in 2012, requires lawmakers to disclose trades within 45 days. This was supposed to eliminate the appearance that they use their influence and access for profit. Nearly a decade later, Paul’s trade disclosure is the latest example of how the law has fallen short.

**At least a dozen lawmakers have recently revealed that they missed disclosure deadlines**, including Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Democrat of Florida, and Senator Tommy Tuberville, Republican of Alabama. “There is absolutely a trend of more people filing late,” said Kedric Payne, a senior director of ethics at the Campaign Legal Center.

**The disclosure rules are rarely, if ever, enforced.** STOCK Act disclosures have led to some high-profile investigations, but experts told DealBook that they couldn’t think of a single case that the Justice Department has brought under the act’s disclosure rules. “If the Justice Department went after more of those cases, I’m sure lawmakers would more diligently comply,” said Virginia Canter, a lawyer for the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.

**Penalties under the law are minor.** The STOCK Act gives the Justice Department the ability to bring criminal charges, but the bar is high. And the law caps civil fines at $50,000. In practice, violations are generally resolved with a minimal fine, typically as little as $200 for a first-time offense.

*Read more:* *Andrew’s column from January* *discussed how the S.E.C. could change a rule for broker-dealers that would end questionable stock trades by lawmakers, without the need for new legislation.*
https://www.reddit.com/r/StockMarket/comments/p3t32a/rand_paul_discloses_16_months_late_that_his_wife/