Gianforte Breaks Blind Trust Promise, Actively Profiting Off Pandemic
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, April 17, 2020
CONTACT
press@montanademocrats.org
Gianforte Breaks Blind Trust Promise, Actively Profiting Off Pandemic
Helena, MT – It has not been a good week for Congressman Greg Gianforte. Following insider trading allegations launched by Republican Attorney General Tim Fox’s campaign against Gianforte, the Helena Independent Record is reporting on claims that Gianforte violated his 2017 pledge to place his assets in a blind trust, and is actively profiting off of massive investments in companies that stand to gain from the COVID-19 outbreak.
Since the beginning of the year, Gianforte has invested up to $1 million in stocks from pharmaceutical, medical supply, and consulting companies connected to the COVID-19 pandemic. In March – as the first Montanans began to get sick – Gianforte invested tens of thousands more dollars in several COVID-19 related stocks, each of which has increased in value by at least 11% in the past month alone.
The immoral moral stock trades prompted Gianforte to admit that he quietly broke his 2017 promise to keep his assets in a blind trust. Instead, Gianforte has invented a scheme he calls a “blind investment agreement,” a construct that allows Gianforte to stay updated on his portfolio’s holdings and performance, undermining the entire purpose of a blind trust.
“Gianforte promised Montanans he would put his holdings in a blind trust; that was a lie. Now, he’s treating a national public health emergency that has forced 64,000 Montanans to apply for unemployment insurance since March 15 as a personal investment opportunity,” said MDP Executive Director Sandi Luckey. “It’s outrageous. While Montanans are looking out for their families and their communities, Gianforte is busy looking out for his bottom line. Montana’s working families deserve a Representative who will fight for them in times of crisis, not work to expand his investment portfolio. This may be his worst betrayal yet.”
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