'Appearance of conflict': NYT catches GOP lawmaker doing opposite of campaign promise

A wealthy business executive who was elected to root out corruption and end stock trading among lawmakers is now himself one of the most prolific elected stock traders, according to a new report on Saturday.

The New York Times over the weekend shed a light on Representative Rob Bresnahan Jr., who the outlet says "campaigned on prohibiting stock trading by members of Congress," yet "has emerged as one of the most active stock traders in the freshman class."

"Last March, when Rob Bresnahan, Jr., a wealthy Republican business executive, was running to represent a competitive House district in northeastern Pennsylvania, he published a letter to the editor in a local newspaper demanding an end to stock trading by members of Congress," according to the report.

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But that still has not come to pass.

The report goes on:

"More than two months after being sworn in, Mr. Bresnahan, who defeated a Democratic incumbent last November in one of the most expensive House races in the country, has not introduced or co-sponsored such a bill. Over that time, he has emerged as one of the most active stock traders in the freshman class, according to Capitol Trades, a site that monitors the stock market activity of lawmakers."

According to the Times, "Since he took office in January, Mr. Bresnahan has reported 264 stock trades" which equate to $1.7 million in stock purchases since taking office.

"Lawmakers in both parties have long championed the issue of banning individual stock trading for members of Congress as a way to appeal to growing populist sentiment among constituents," the report states. "They note that lawmakers have access to classified intelligence reports, meet with chief executives and play a key role in setting economic policies, creating at least the appearance of conflicts."

According the the article, Bresnahan has even "traded tens of thousands of dollars of stock in Alibaba, the e-commerce giant with close ties to the Chinese Communist Party."

"Between February and March, Mr. Bresnahan also dumped Tesla stock that he had held since last year, according to public records," according to the report.

A spokesperson for the lawmaker told the Times Bresnahan is preparing his own bill on this subject, as opposed to co-signing others.

Read the full piece here.