In yet another eyebrow-raising financial move by the Pelosi family, Paul Pelosi, husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, unloaded more than $500,000 worth of Visa stock just three months before the company was slammed with federal antitrust charges. Public documents reveal the suspiciously timed stock sale as Visa now faces a lawsuit alleging it monopolized the debit card market, thanks to a years-long investigation by the Justice Department.
The lawsuit accuses Visa of using its dominant market position to punish both consumers and merchants who opt for competing payment processors. Essentially, Visa is alleged to have been strong-arming financial tech companies into exclusive deals, threatening penalties if they dared work with competitors. If true, this would mean Visa has been operating as a near-monopoly in the debit card market for years, squeezing out competition and harming both businesses and consumers.
Yet, long before the public knew about this investigation or the eventual lawsuit, Paul Pelosi seemed to have a sixth sense. He sold off 2,000 shares of Visa, valued between $500,000 and $1 million, according to a July 3 congressional filing. This transaction raises serious questions, given that no public indication of the lawsuit existed at the time.
While Nancy Pelosi has repeatedly claimed she doesn’t own stocks and has “no prior knowledge or subsequent involvement” in her husband’s financial dealings, critics aren’t buying it. Many believe that Pelosi’s deep connections in Washington, especially during her tenure as Speaker, could give her access to non-public information that could influence financial markets—an issue that has plagued her throughout her career.
Christopher Josephs, founder of the popular “Nancy Pelosi Stock Tracker” account on X (formerly Twitter), highlighted the stock sale and reignited the ongoing debate over whether lawmakers and their families should be barred from trading stocks due to inherent conflicts of interest.
Nancy Pelosi’s spokesperson quickly attempted to quell the controversy, stating that she had no involvement in her husband’s trades. But for many Americans, that explanation rings hollow. Given her extensive influence in Washington and her family’s nine-figure net worth, it’s hard to ignore the optics of such well-timed trades, particularly when it comes to companies under federal scrutiny.
This isn’t Paul Pelosi’s first foray into controversial stock trades. In addition to selling Visa shares, the July 3 filing also revealed that he sold 2,500 shares of Tesla and bought stock in Nvidia and Broadcom. The Pelosis’ vast stock portfolio has raised questions for years about the potential misuse of insider information, with many arguing that her political position grants them undue financial advantages.
Despite calls from both sides of the aisle to prohibit members of Congress and their families from engaging in stock trading, Pelosi has been a staunch opponent of such reforms. Critics argue that this resistance speaks volumes, as the San Francisco Democrat has long enjoyed the perks of her power and position. It’s no wonder she’s been unwilling to sever her family’s lucrative financial ties to the stock market.
While Visa claims its U.S. debit practices comply with applicable laws, the federal investigation is far from over. Prosecutors are reportedly scrutinizing Visa’s relationships with companies like Square, Stripe, and PayPal, with allegations that Visa offered financial incentives to prevent these firms from using competing processors. It’s also alleged that Visa pushed PayPal to encourage customers to use Visa-branded cards and offered lower fees to Square’s Cash App if it steered users towards Visa.
The timing of Paul Pelosi’s stock sale, coupled with the allegations facing Visa, is a stark reminder of the need for serious reform in Washington. As Americans watch politicians and their families enrich themselves off the very system they claim to serve, the trust in our leaders continues to erode. How many more “coincidences” will it take before real action is taken?
