State Democrats on Monday hit Senator Bob Corker and Rep. Chuck Fleischmann on stock trades.
The statement said, "Politico reports today that Senator Bob Corker and Representative Chuck Fleischmann are among a number of legislators seemingly capitalizing on their position in government by trading stocks either related to legislation they were working on or potentially using inside information.
Rep. Fleischmann sought to profit from Vice President Biden’s moon shot on cancer research, making a strategic investment ahead of the official announcement.
"For Senator Corker, this is another event in an emerging pattern. Corker invested in Chesapeake Energy, a company advocating for ending the oil export ban at the same time he was cosponsoring the bill to end the ban, eventually passed by congress. The day after it became clear the ban would end, Sen. Corker sold at least $500,000 in shares of the stock.
“It’s unseemly. Tennesseans are struggling. Over 1 million people are living in poverty in our state, including over 300,000 children. Meanwhile, Senator Corker and Representative Fleischmann are using their elected offices to line their pockets. On top of that, Rep. Fleischmann just voted for a health care bill that only 21% of people approve of because it rolls back protections for people with pre-existing conditions and throws 24 million people off of their coverage. Maybe if he spent as much time reading the health care bill as he did on his own stock trades, he would have made a better decision.
"Previously, Senator Corker undervalued his net worth in federal financial disclosures, leaving out millions in real estate holdings alone. Corker was also investigated for suspicion of insider trading by the FBI and the Securities and Exchange Commission. The specific problems were with a Chattanooga-based real estate company with close ties to Corker.
“Senator Corker has managed to earn millions of dollars while being a United States senator. He seems to have really great luck with stock trades. This is everything people hate about Washington. We have a real crisis of confidence in our government right now because of behavior like we see with Senator Corker and Rep. Fleischmann. Public service is not supposed to be about how much money you can make for yourself, it is about how you can best serve the people of Tennessee.”