Forum Post: Occupy the SEC! Congress is Illegally Insider Trading, but SEC Is too Busy Cracking Down on Kettle Chips
Posted 12 years ago on Dec. 15, 2011, 10:53 a.m. EST by fucorporatemedia
(451)
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
The Securities and Exchange Commission has launched a probe into Diamond Foods, the owner of Pop Secret popcorn and Kettle brand potato chips, after it made questionable payments to crop growers that at least one analyst alleged was done to bolster performance.
Oh my Gawd! Congress is passing(or not passing) laws to boost their profits, buying and selling stocks based on their votes…Occupy the SEC!
Congress has admitted to insider trading which is illegal and all Congressional members participating in this should be immediately investigated by the SEC.
No, It Is NOT “Legal” For Congress To Insider-Trade — The SEC Should Launch Investigation Immediately http://getsmartnews.com/news/309444
Congress never “exempted” itself from insider trading laws, Nagy says–because Congress has never actually passed a law about insider trading.
By trading on information gathered in the course of their jobs, Nagy says, Congress-people are abusing the public trust and violating a legal duty, just the way any other insider-traders do.
So the Congress people who traded during the financial crisis (and since) should be investigated and, possibly, prosecuted for their behavior.
So the Congress people who traded during the financial crisis (and since) should be investigated and, possibly, prosecuted for their behavior.
This would be a very positive direction for the Occupy Movement.
We need to start holding people accountable, by demanding directly that they hold these lawbreakers accountable.
WE have very solid demands- Make our politicians follow the law, and when they don't, hold them accountable. Simple.
The corporate media also needs to be held accountable, so surround the TV stations with signs demanding that Congress, not Kettle Foods, be held accountable for breaking the law.
This is the fastest way to get rid of Congress (the best way with them stealing elections)...then we can have a new vote on paper ballots, hand counted and posted at the precinct. Americans didn't really elect these bozos, they steal the elections then use the corporate media to cover it up. And they will do it again.
Occupy the SEC and the U.S. Justice Department. These two governmental entities are clearly in the tank for Wall Street. Elected officials have the brass balls to trade on inside information with impunity and laugh in our face. The SEC keeps handing out miniscule penalties to Wall Street fraudsters instead of criminal indictments. You see it happen almost every single day in the media whether it be Goldman, B of A, WaMu, Citi, and the names roll on. The Justice Department is even worse. They prosecute the small fry when the Wall Street whales go free for mega-financial fraud against Main Street Americans. Even worse, we get to clean up after the crooks and lose our jobs and our homes while the offenders prosper. The government and Wall Street are joined at the hip and everybody on the planet knows it.
-Yes Occupy SEC, And the Attorney General Eric Holder!- What's his problem... why is he not doing anything about all this fraud, insider trading, theft etc... His inaction is aiding and abetting wallstreet criminality.
::::::::Bill Black: What if the SEC investigated Banks the way it is investigating Mutual Funds?::::::::
http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2011/12/bill-black-what-if-the-sec-investigated-banks-the-way-it-is-investigating-mutual-funds.html
-December 28, 2011-
( ( ( f l a s b a c k ) ) )
SEC Destroys 9,000 Fraud Files Involving Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley, Lehman
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/08/sec-destroys-9000-fraud-files-involving.html
-Wednesday, August 17-
( ( ( f l a s b a c k ) ) )
Rolling Stone: Is the SEC Covering Up Wall Street Crimes? by Matt Taibbi
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/is-the-sec-covering-up-wall-street-crimes-20110817
-August 17, 2011-
Yes! Occupy the Justice system...and when they ignore us there, surround the TV stations and demand they cover it.
Lobby the government. Your voice is a vote. Petitioning is lobbying. The Peoples Lobby. Take part, take action.
Forward environmental change. Your participation can make a difference.
http://act.credoaction.com/campaign/keystone_sotu/?id=33678-4904244-%3Dxzka6x&t=7
187,506 signatures so far for Bernie Sanders petition as of 9:48am central time 01/20/2012
http://sanders.enews.senate.gov/mail/util.cfm?mailaction=clickthru&gpiv=2100081904.557411.411&gen=1&mailing_linkid=34578
The petition to save abandoned houses has 16 signatures as of 01/20/2012. Were just rolling right along.
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/Savingpeople-savinghomes-payingdowntheNationaldeficit/
Here is a place where you can directly address change. Take part, it does not hurt and may very well heal/help. Forward the cause of reform and rebirth.
http://www.care2.com/go/z/e/Ag8nw/zL2Q/B18Bb
Sierra Club has some good things to take part in as well. Set-up and ready for you to take part in. http://sierraclub.org/
The twisted irony is ... some forms of insider trading are not illegal "if congress does it" (they created an exemption for themselves). Supposedly, congress has its own rules, which prohibit the worse abuses (but who knows really, and the fact that there's an exemption to any law the rest of us have to follow, for members of congress, is just fucking insane).
Forward environmental change. Your participation can make a difference.
http://act.credoaction.com/campaign/keystone_sotu/?id=33678-4904244-%3Dxzka6x&t=7
186,696 signatures so far for Bernie Sanders petition as of 10:22am central time 01/19/2012
http://sanders.enews.senate.gov/mail/util.cfm?mailaction=clickthru&gpiv=2100081904.557411.411&gen=1&mailing_linkid=34578
The petition to save abandoned houses has 16 signatures as of 01/19/2012 10:22am central time. Were just rolling right along.
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/Savingpeople-savinghomes-payingdowntheNationaldeficit/
Here is a place where you can directly address change. Take part, it does not hurt and may very well heal/help. Forward the cause of reform and rebirth.
http://www.care2.com/go/z/e/Ag8nw/zL2Q/B18Bb
Sierra Club has some good things to take part in as well. Set-up and ready for you to take part in. http://sierraclub.org/
Take action. See samples of how below.
183,361 signatures so far for Bernie Sanders petition as of 10:15am central time 01/15/2012
http://sanders.enews.senate.gov/mail/util.cfm?mailaction=clickthru&gpiv=2100081904.557411.411&gen=1&mailing_linkid=34578
The petition to save abandoned houses has 15 signatures. We picked one up at around 9:50pm 01/13/2012. Were just rolling right along.
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/Savingpeople-savinghomes-payingdowntheNationaldeficit/
Here is a place where you can directly address change. Take part, it does not hurt and may very well heal/help. Forward the cause of reform and rebirth.
http://www.care2.com/go/z/e/Ag8nw/zL2Q/B18Bb
Sierra Club has some good things to take part in as well. Set-up and ready for you to take part in. http://sierraclub.org/
Here is a place where you can directly address change. Take part, it does not hurt and may very well heal/help. Forward the cause of reform and rebirth.
http://www.care2.com/go/z/e/Ag8nw/zL2Q/B18Bb
It is time to go on the offense against Congress yet?
We don't need this Congress making an amendment, we need to throw their asses out right now.
They are breaking the law, making money on their votes, passing information to corporations on how they will vote so they can insider trade.
They are violating the Constitution already, they need to be held accountable for the patriot act, illegal spying and everything else they have done since.
Close all corruption loop-holes.
Remove all temptation, remove all UN-due influence. This is how we will start removing corruption from the system. Corruption should not be how Government is done or influenced.
This is the easiest, fastest way to throw Congress out now.
WE need to stop them before they do any more damage to our country.
We need to get them on the defense, take control of the news in this country by going to the TV stations and surrounding them until they do their jobs of serving the public interest on our public airwaves.
We also need to vote them out in the coming elections. If the electoral system still works as it should that is.
OPEN LETTER TO ROCKY ANDERSON Dear Mr. Anderson,
You are either the bravest person in America or the craziest for wanting to clean-up the mess created by Bush and Obama. I choose to believe you are the bravest.
First, we have the opposition:
The Corporate State of America (CSA) currently owns probably 80% of the members of Congress, the Presidency, and a majority on the Supreme Court. CSA also owns many governors and members of the state legislatures.
The CSA also owns those living the LUSH LIFE, which is probably at least four million American voters. There are probably another ten million or more living just below the Lush Life who aspire to the Lush Life and vote Republican or Blue Dog Democrat.
The CSA, as owners of the Mogul Media, heavily influence the “dumbed down” voters with a torrent of propaganda, mixed with mind-numbing trivia produced for television, radio, movies and assorted other venues.
The CSA has been instrumental in shaping the content of our educational systems to make sure no “controversial” subjects are mentioned in our schools. “Controversial” means anything contrary to the ruling elite's beliefs, purposes and pleasures.
The CSA has an enormous cow pattie to sling at any advesary, and they have plenty of manure in reserve to make more cow patties.
The CSA is one of the many minions of the NEW WORLD ORDER, and thus additional resources from the Rothschild Group, the Bilderberger Group, the Tavistock Institute, the Clubs of Rome, and many “Astroturf” fronts.
Voter apathy will arise because of the massive confusion from the fight by the Justice Party for its candidates against the Republicratic Party's candidates. This confusion will be aided and abetted by the “Poop-agandists” employed by the CSA.
Second, we have the forces of good versus evil, light versus darkness, love versus hate, the poor versus the rich, and the 80% versus the 20%. As unorganized as the “rabble” may seem, after a large number of defeats of the OCCUPIERS by CSA's shock troops, a majority of the General Assemblies will realized that they have to organize into multiple defenders of freedom in each state, in each voting precinct, town, city and region. We need many very competent and ethical candidates to get on the ballots in each state and voting area.
Third, the organizations should have at least one, well crafted plan of many parts so that we do not work at cross-purposes but we do use our limited resources with maximum leverage. You can bet your bottom dollar that the Republicrats have such a plan; probaby they have many plans in order to meet and best anything the Justice Party can throw at them. The New Party plan needs creation, definition, discussion, consensus, funding, and activation. The outline exists. See: the plan for the NEW PARTY (name is placeholder): http://thedragonsteeth.wetpaint.com/page/THE+NEW+PARTY
Sincerely, James E. Miller, JD jimmiller5417@gmail.com
Occupy the corporate media, Demand Congress is held accountable.
Leave Kettle Chips alone@#!
Go to https://twitter.com/#!/OccupySEC to read H. Clinton's official letter to the SEC she sent 9/17/2008. Warning them to take action before the DOW dropped 32% in two months. The Uptick Rule worked well from 1938-2007. Read this important document that supports reinstating the uptick rule @ http://twitpic.com/7fjwej
nice name!
more info:
The definition of insider trading is trading while in possession of material non-public information.
On September 16th, 2008, a new book by Peter Schweizer alleges, Rep. Spencer Bachus and other members of Congress attended a private, off-the-record (read: non-public) briefing from Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke about the state of the economy.
The next day, some Congress-people who attended the briefing, including Rep. Bachus and Dick Durbin, sold stocks or bet against the market. A few days later, after the market had tanked, Rep. Bachus cashed out his bet for a tidy profit.
Now, hands up, who out there thinks that a private off-the-record briefing from the two most important financial executives in the country would be considered "material non-public information"?
I certainly do.
"Material non-public information" is any information that a reasonable person might want to consider when making an investment decision.
And this reasonable person, anyway, would definitely want to consider the latest thinking and information of the Fed Chairman and the Treasury Secretary when placing a bet on the market.
If a Wall Street executive had been at that briefing and then immediately dumped his/her stocks or bet against the market, you can be confident that Congress and the public would be screaming about corruption and unfairness and the shafting of "the little guy" and calling for the executive's head.
The personal trading of Congress-people after this briefing is no different.
Bachus and Durbin (and others) got the information they traded in possession of because they were doing a job on behalf of their constituents. The information was confidential, and, in all likelihood, material. And they appear to have immediately used it for their own personal gain.
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/congress-insider-trading-investigation-2011-11#ixzz1gd9HkIyZ
they don't need to exempt themselves because they don't usually have company-specific inside info, so they're not breaking current law... they do however, have a sense of how they are changing the business environment and then apply that to the market place. for example, if they think they'll pass a law negatively affecting utilities, they might short the stock of ConEd. there is simply a gap in the law, because CONgress allows it to exist--why would they harm their own self interest? they should be required to use blind trusts.
Insider trading is trading stocks on information that is not public.
Congress is definitely guilty of insider trading.
here's an example: US Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Seattle, made almost $40,000 in 2005 by buying and selling stock shares for a company that benefited from a massive bioterrorism-defense bill he voted for. McDermott denies that his “nearly perfect” timing was based on inside information. http://investmentwatchblog.com/outrage-us-rep-jim-mcdermott-d-seattle-made-almost-40000-in-2005-by-buying-and-selling-stock-shares-for-a-company-that-benefited-from-a-massive-bioterrorism-defense-bill-he-voted-for-mcdermott/
pelosi bought tons of visa shares when she knew fee increase limiting legislation would not pass and profited significantly... all perfectly legal.
the information has to be company-specific, meaning coming from the company. the current law does not prohibit trading on information about the business environment in which the company operates... that's the subtle gap that permits these things. legislators change the business environment, as do regulators, but that's not company specific. hedge funds have all kinds of folks circulating through the halls of congress to get this type of info.--they talk with aids and staff and the reps. themselves to glean the direction of legislation.
"all perfectly legal" no, I'm afraid not. No matter how many times the corporate media says it, it is not legal. Congress is subject to the same laws as the rest of us...
"Congress never “exempted” itself from insider trading laws, Nagy says–because Congress has never actually passed a law about insider trading.
By trading on information gathered in the course of their jobs, Nagy says, Congress-people are abusing the public trust and violating a legal duty, just the way any other insider-traders do.
So the Congress people who traded during the financial crisis (and since) should be investigated and, possibly, prosecuted for their behavior."
No it is NOT legal for Congress to Insider Trade http://www.businessinsider.com/congress-insider-trading-investigation-2011-11#ixzz1dnmcxjaG
i would also note that the article does say: "at least one person disagrees." and that's it, one person. that's not to say i condone it, or think it should be this way--the law needs to be changed.
That 'one person' is honest, can you say the same about the corporate media or congress?
Haven't you learned by now you have to do you own research, THINK FOR YOURSELF?
The law doesn't need to be changed, it needs to be enforced!
the law professor is wrong, dead wrong--that is a professional opinion that neither i, nor the SEC, nor anyone who is expert in these matters, shares. the information must come from the company to be "inside" it is not, under current law, illegal--what they had was "outside" information. that is why there is now, for the first time ever, a bill to be voted on in coming months banning this practice of using non-public legislative information for trading.
That is a dog and pony show to cover their asses-they are already caught!
Just got this from another post...
SEC already having told congress they are subject to insider trading laws and could be prosecuted, but, 'it would be hard to make a case against them'.
Even Lieberman knows it is illegal...."the law against insider trading relates to members of Congress and their staff" Lieberman said.
There is no exemption written for Congress. Insider Trading is trading stocks on non public information?
Where is the exemption?
Because the proof that they have been trading on non public Congressional information is already out there.
But it sure is awesome they threw that criminal Martha Stewart in prison....
you are not getting it for some reason--there is no exemption, the law DOES apply to them; however, in this instance they simply did not have inside information from a company--they rarely ever do, because the CEO/officer would be breaching company duties and could be held liable if someone traded on it. what they had, apparently, is information about a bad economy, and were told that a financial crisis was looming--contrast that with the case where the CEO tells them that next quarter's going to be ugly. likewise, in pelosi's case, she had non-public information on legislation that would affect Visa--she did not have company information--i.e., inside information. currently, the trades conducted are not illegal, hence the proposed legislation to change that. trading on congressional information is permissible now, and always has been, but that will likely change. you seem not to be grasping the points as to why what they did is not illegal under current laws.
Clear case of conflict of interest.
Those in office should not be allowed to have any dealings in the stock-market.
This is an area where the SEC should be monitoring office holder's finances, assets and transactions. Police the system where it counts, at the top of the ladder.
i agree, they should be in blind trusts, for sure.
Well even in a blind trust they still have their holdings. Don't they?
It would be best if prior to taking office if they had to divest themselves of all holdings, place the money or proceeds into a certificate of deposit, and recuse themselves from anything that would affect real estate holdings.
They can pick-up with their investing after their term is over and they have left office. In the meantime their money will be earning a safe interest in a safe account.
usually the blind trust is managed by an advisor to earn more (hopefully) than a CD--they just wouldn't know what he's swapping here and there--and they cannot communicate to tip him off as to legislation.
No if they still have holdings, there is still plenty of room for abuse. Better to place it all in a certificate of deposit and remove all possibility of misuse of office in that regard.
why are you defending them?
Occupy is going to DC on the 17th....Demand Resignations or Citizen's Arrest congressional members. WE must stop these criminals before they start another war.
not defending... pointing out a giant and intentional gaping hole in the law. their assets should be in blind trusts--they cannot make legislative decisions with respect to their portfolios if that were the case.
i am pointing out a giant (and intentional) gaping hole in the law. they should be in blind trusts.
I sure wish I got paid like the homeland security goons that bump stupid posts on this board 24/7
On the one hand I think, this board is useless...on the other hand...there are so many paid goons here....they must think it is important to control this board for some reason....
Wait til they get their performance reviews. They'd be fired. They'll likely all quit once they realize they can't put the genie back in the bottle. Hang in there.
Help spread the word mediaone. thx
http://www.the99declaration.org/
Just keep bumping these stupid ass posts....
Why do retailers feel they have a right to make the highest profits possible ? 248 comments 3 days ago by FriendlyObserverA last comment 0 minutes ago
Retail outlets should be replaced with a nonprofit government run organization. 30 comments 2 hours ago by FriendlyObserverA last comment 0 minutes ago
Why is it solutions, actions that will make a difference ....drop like a rock on this board, and people just keep on responding to paid homeland security goons?
We need to Occupy where our democracy is blocked, the justice system. We can go to the SEC or go to the corporate media and surround them, demanding loudly for accountability until they respond.
We need to Occupy for a free press, which is absolutely essential for accountability of our politicians, fair elections etc. We must occupy the corporate media and take back our public airwaves.
IF it isn't against the law for members of congress to do what some of them do regarding "insider trading" then it isn't illegal. There should be laws to prevent them from doing it. THEN it will be illegal. If there are no posted speed limits , than you can't get a ticket for speeding