Former US President Donald Trump has called for the prosecution of Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), alleging that her husband’s stock trades ahead of a lawsuit against Visa raise serious ethical concerns, according to the New York Post.
Speaking at a press conference at Trump Tower in New York, Trump accused the former House Speaker of having inside knowledge regarding a Justice Department lawsuit against Visa, suggesting she tipped off her husband, Paul Pelosi before he sold shares in the company.
“Nancy Pelosi has a little problem because her husband sold their Visa stock – they had a lot of Visa stock – one day before it was announced that Visa is being sued by the Department of Justice,” Trump said. “You think it was luck? I don’t.”
According to financial disclosures, Paul Pelosi offloaded 2,000 shares of Visa stock, valued between $500,000 and $1 million, on July 1. Less than three months later, Visa was hit with an antitrust lawsuit from the DOJ, alleging it illegally monopolised the debit card market.
“Think of that. Nancy Pelosi sold vast amounts of Visa stock one day before the big lawsuit that we all read about a few days ago,” Trump said. “She should be prosecuted. Nancy Pelosi should be prosecuted for that.”
At the time of the sale, there was no public indication of the impending lawsuit, though Visa shares dropped by 5.5% on the day it was announced.
Earlier this week, a representative for Pelosi denied any wrongdoing, saying: “Speaker Pelosi does not own any stocks, and she has no prior knowledge or subsequent involvement in any transactions.”
Real estate investor Paul Pelosi has faced backlash over his investments in the past but has not been charged with any wrongdoing.