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

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.


Federal lawmakers are prohibited from trading stock based on non-public information. But since news of Trump’s massive Pentagon budget request was already public when Inhofe purchased the stock, it likely would not have run afoul of congressional insider trading laws even if Inhofe himself were behind the transaction.


But the Raytheon stock purchase still raised a flag for government ethicists, who said it underscored the moral hazard of lawmakers owning assets in areas of industry affected by legislation they are in positions to author and shepherd into law. No federal rule or regulation would prohibit Inhofe’s investment adviser, or any other, from trading stocks based on the actions of their congressional clients, even without direct input from those clients. Nor is Inhofe prevented from seeing what stocks are in his portfolio. The latest stock purchases were posted publicly on a Senate database.


“We have no way of knowing what kind of relationship Inhofe has with whoever is managing his money/trust and it's wild to take it on good faith that he has some kind of puritanical self-imposed barrier in place that prevents him from communicating in any way with his broker about his trades,” Alex Baumgart, a researcher at the Center for Responsive Politics, wrote in an email.

On Wednesday afternoon, the senator’s office said that he had beenunaware of the stock purchase until that day.
“All of Senator Inhofe’s financial transactions are handled by a third-party advisor,” wrote spokesperson Leacy Burke in an email. “The senator has had no involvement in and has not been consulted about his stock transactions.”


“[T]he Senator has called his financial advisor and they reversed, or busted, the transaction,” Burke added. “This means that the transaction was canceled before it was settled; the Senator never took ownership of it.”


Burke said that a new transaction report had already been filed with Senate ethics officials reflecting that cancellation, though as of 5 p.m. EDT on Wednesday evening no such filing was publicly listed on the disclosure website.


Additionally, Burke said that Inhofe had directed his financial advisor not to purchase any aerospace or defense stocks going forward. Burke provided a letter from Inhofe dated Wednesday detailing those instructions. Metadata in the document indicates that it was created less than 20 minutes after The Daily Beast first reached out for comment.


Last year, Inhofe, through his financial adviser, bought stock in another Pentagon contractor, Fluor, according to Senate disclosure records. But he sold that stock in August, shortly before assuming the Armed Services Committee chairmanship.


Inhofe has purchased or owned stock in other companies within his direct legislative purview in the past. From 2015 to 2017, he chaired the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. At the time, he owned stakes in energy companies including Continental Resources and Newfield Exploration. Like his shares in Raytheon, those assets were held in the trust managed by his financial adviser.


But the Raytheon purchase, coming right as Inhofe pushed a massive defense funding bill, raised eyebrows among ethics experts who noted that he was in position to advocate and advanced legislation that would directly impact the company’s bottom line.


“The requested defense budget increase was no longer ‘nonpublic’ because it had already been publicized,” said Brendan Fischer, the director of federal reform programs at the Campaign Legal Center. “But Inhofe likely has other nonpublic inside information, such as insight into what the final budget will look like and which industries stand to benefit.”Inhofe is likely to retain his perch atop the Armed Services Committee when the next Congress reconvenes in the New Year.

Under Republican rules, party members on a specific committee get to vote for who should serve as their committee’s respective chair. Though it is not required, members often decide such matters on basis of seniority, giving the Oklahoma Republican a clear leg up and positioning him to have heavy sway over both defense policy and defense budgeting during the next few years. 

Views: 98

Comment

You need to be a member of 12160 Social Network to add comments!

Join 12160 Social Network

Comment by jim on December 12, 2018 at 10:52pm

Looks like the Snake got caught with the goods then dropped them.
This no good S.O.B. pushed for more defense spending then cashes in when it happens. Making America Great Again. For the Rich not us.
This asshole has been a Oklahoma senator as long as I can Remember he's the BIGGEST robber of all Republicans in this state.
Just like all the other Presidents Trump included he wants to help the little people while palming BIG Oil, Gas, military , pharmaceuticals, AND Filling the jails until there's no more room then want to RAISE TAXES to build more jails.
( law makers, judges, politicians, presidents, governors, senators and on and on.... ALL SUCK ! )
its a matter of time this country will be wearing bright green vests.

"Destroying the New World Order"

TOP CONTENT THIS WEEK

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THE SITE!

mobile page

12160.info/m

12160 Administrators

 

Latest Activity

Doc Vega posted blog posts
yesterday
Doc Vega commented on Doc Vega's blog post Plausible Explanation Behind Recent Cryptid Sightings in the Wild!
"cheeki kea I was wrong Emperor Penguins are big and powerful but still alive but this,  A size…"
yesterday
Doc Vega commented on Doc Vega's blog post Plausible Explanation Behind Recent Cryptid Sightings in the Wild!
"Cheeki kea here's another that they say there have been modern sightings of!  The name of…"
yesterday
Doc Vega commented on Doc Vega's blog post Plausible Explanation Behind Recent Cryptid Sightings in the Wild!
"cheeki kea, did you ever hear of the giant Imperial Penguins? They were about 6 feet tall and could…"
yesterday
Doc Vega commented on Doc Vega's blog post Plausible Explanation Behind Recent Cryptid Sightings in the Wild!
"cheeki kea I do not think these giant two legged birds would need to have a bad attitude as long as…"
yesterday
Olivia Brooks updated their profile
yesterday
John Miller was featured
yesterday
tjdavis's 2 blog posts were featured
yesterday
Zfort Group's blog post was featured
yesterday
Doc Vega's 6 blog posts were featured
yesterday
Burbia commented on tjdavis's video
Thumbnail

“What’s His Motive?” - Inside The Mind of George Soros

"Trump calls for George Soros and son to face federal…"
yesterday
Burbia commented on tjdavis's photo
yesterday
Profile IconSeeta Sathe and Olivia Brooks joined 12160 Social Network
yesterday
tjdavis posted a video

Mossad, Terrifying CIA Technology, Blackwater & The Most Secret CIA Unit | John Kiriakou

John Kiriakou served 15 years in the CIA as a Case Officer (Spy) and as CIA's Head of Counterterrorism Operations in Pakistan where he lead the raid that cap...
Monday
tjdavis posted a photo
Monday
tjdavis posted a video

A Critique of the Tavistock Institute - The Mother Of All Conspiracy Theories

An examination of the Tavistock Institute, a theory which seeks to explain how Western societies have been brainwashed by a cabal of social scientists and th...
Sunday
tjdavis posted a video

“What’s His Motive?” - Inside The Mind of George Soros

In this short clip, Patrick Bet-David, Sebastian Gorka Adam Sosnick, and Tom Ellsworth George Soros and what motivates him to do the things he does. FaceTime...
Aug 27
Doc Vega posted blog posts
Aug 27
cheeki kea favorited Bob of the Family Renner's photo
Aug 26
cheeki kea commented on Doc Vega's blog post Plausible Explanation Behind Recent Cryptid Sightings in the Wild!
"If you're ever out there Doc V and notice giant two legged birds roaming the wilderness be…"
Aug 26

© 2025   Created by truth.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service

content and site copyright 12160.info 2007-2019 - all rights reserved. unless otherwise noted