The Pelosi family is once again facing pressure after new revelations surfaced about a controversial stock transaction made by Paul Pelosi, husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. On Tuesday, the DOJ filed a lawsuit against Visa, accusing the payment processing giant of using its dominant market position to block competition. According to the DOJ, Visa handles more than 60% of the over $4 trillion in annual debit transactions across the United States.
The lawsuit claims Visa entered into agreements to penalize merchants who sought alternatives and paid rivals to stay out of the debit card market. The case is the result of a years-long investigation and marks the first major antitrust action the Biden administration has taken against a financial services company. Visa’s alleged monopolistic practices effectively stifled competition and increased costs for consumers and merchants, according to the lawsuit.
Following the announcement, Visa’s stock price experienced a 2.12% drop in after-hours trading, settling at $288.15. Over the past week, the stock has seen a modest decrease of 0.60%, cutting its monthly gains to 5.28% and its growth since the beginning of the year to 9.08%, as of Tuesday.
Public filings show that Paul Pelosi sold over $500,000 worth of Visa stock just weeks before the Biden administration hit the credit card giant with a major antitrust lawsuit. The lawsuit, filed by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), alleges Visa engaged in illegal monopolistic practices to dominate the debit card market. The timing has raised eyebrows, with critics questioning whether Paul Pelosi’s stock dump was coincidental or based on insider knowledge. Given Nancy Pelosi’s long-standing position of power in Congress, some are now calling for further investigation into the potential use of privileged information in the Pelosis’ financial dealings.
BREAKING 🚨:
The DOJ plans to open up a lawsuit against Visa saying they illegally monopolized the US debit card market
Pelosi sold ~$1 Million dollars of Visa $V just 2 months ago
Wild.
— Nancy Pelosi Stock Tracker ♟ (@PelosiTracker_) September 24, 2024
“Speaker Pelosi does not own any stocks, and she has no prior knowledge or subsequent involvement in any transactions,” the congresswoman’s spokesperson told The New York Post. Despite this assertion, detractors argue that Nancy Pelosi’s influential position in Washington could afford her access to sensitive, market-impacting information not available to the public.
Ron Geffner, a former enforcement attorney with the Securities and Exchange Commission, said to the The Post, “At various critical inflection points in history, members of our government have engaged in trading at a time which their conflicts are called into question.”
Pelosi consistently sold shares of Visa Inc. (V), with the latest sale recorded on July 1, 2024. This followed a pattern, as similar sales were also noted on November 8, 2022, and June 21, 2022. For years the former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives has faced criticism over the years due to stock trading by her husband, Paul Pelosi. The controversy primarily revolves around the conflict of interest and potential for insider trading, given her access to sensitive political information.
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