Exclusive: Congressman Tim Moore failed to properly disclose hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of personal stock purchases made around Trump's ‘Liberation Day' in a potential STOCK Act violation
Rep. Tim Moore (R-N.C.) appears to have missed a required disclosure deadline under a federal transparency law, failing to properly disclose hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of personal stock purchases he made immediately before or after President Donald Trump's April 2 'Liberation Day' tariff declaration, according to congressional financial records reviewed by Fortune.
Moore also appears to have profited from his flurry of purchases after he quickly sold his stock shares off as financial markets swung wildly during April.
Moore did not publicly disclose a dozen stock trades—involving American Airlines Group Inc., Ford Motor Company and Harley-Davidson Inc.—that he made throughout early- and mid-April until Friday, which is well after a federal deadline for doing so. The federal Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act, a law designed to defend against conflicts of interest and insider trading, requires federal lawmakers to disclose any personal stock trade within 45 days of the trade's execution.
Moore's congressional office acknowledged a phone call and email from Fortune seeking comment but did not immediately respond to questions. Following publication of this story, Moore emailed Fortune a statement about the 'technical delays' of his stock disclosures.
'These trades were disclosed within the 30-day grace period for technical delays recognized by the House Ethics Committee,' Moore wrote. 'They were submitted in good faith and in accordance with the STOCK Act — no late fee was assessed, nor was one required.'
He did not otherwise address questions about the trades themselves, their timing, or why they were disclosed after the federal deadline.
Moore—a freshman lawmaker who serves as vice chairman of the U.S. House's Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations—disclosed making six separate purchases of American Airlines Group stock from April 1 through April 22, together worth between $90,000 and $300,000, congressional financial records indicate. (Lawmakers are only legally required to disclose the values of their personal stock trades in broad ranges.)
Then, on May 2, Moore sold American Airlines shares worth between $250,000 and $500,000 while indicating in a congressional financial document that he earned an undisclosed amount of capital gains from the transaction. American Airlines Group stock price trended upward during the time Moore bought and sold his shares.
Similarly, Moore disclosed making four purchases of Ford Motor Company stock from April 7 to April 10 together worth between $95,000 and $250,000.
He then sold shares of Ford stock valued at between $100,000 and $250,000 on April 15, again indicating in a federal document that he earned an unspecified amount of capital gains. Ford shares increased in value in the days between Moore's purchases and sale.
On April 4, Moore purchased between $15,000 and $50,000 in Harley-Davidson stock. He bought more shares, also valued between $15,000 and $50,000, on May 1.
On May 14, he disclosed selling between $50,000 and $100,000 in Harley-Davidson stock, again noting he earned capital gains from the sale.
In his capacity as vice chairman of the Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation, Moore's congressional office said he would 'help lead critical efforts to ensure transparency and accountability in financial regulations and federal spending.'
Although Moore, like all members of Congress, may legally buy and sell stock, 'the timing of Congressman Moore's stock trades certainly looks and smells bad,' said Aaron Scherb, senior director of legislative affairs for Common Cause, a nonprofit government watchdog group.
During his run for Congress last year, the Raleigh News & Observer reported that a personal financial disclosure filed by Moore—an attorney by trade—failed to disclose full information about legal clients or provide mandatory reasons for withholding the information.
As for Moore's seemingly tardy stock-trade disclosures from April, first-time offenders are subject to a $200 late-filing fine administered by the House Committee on Ethics. The committee generally waives this fine for any trades that are less than a month past the federal deadline.
Repeat or willful STOCK Act disclosure offenders can face steeper penalties or even a criminal investigation, although such actions are rare.
'Even though Congressman Moore appears to have missed the deadline for reporting these stock trades, the penalties are just a slap on the wrist, which leads to many members just ignoring the law,' Scherb said.
Indeed, dozens of members of Congress have violated the STOCK Act's disclosure provisions this decade, according to various media reports.
Meanwhile, Moore is not alone in making notable numbers of stock trades in the days before or after Trump's April 2 tariff declaration: Reps. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), Julie Johnson (D-Texas), Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.), Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.) and Jefferson Shreve (R-Ind.) are among others.
These trades come at a moment when a bipartisan group of lawmakers—from Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) on the far left to Sen. Josh Hawley (D-Mo.) and Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) on the far right—have sponsored several similar bills that each aim to ban or otherwise limit members of Congress from buying or selling individual stocks.
They argue the current STOCK Act has proven inadequate and must be strengthened in order to strengthen the public's trust in Congress.
Both Republican and Democratic Party leaders—including President Donald Trump, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.)—have each signaled support, in principle, for a congressional stock-trade ban.
Beyond that, at least three members of Congress—Rep. Greg Landsman (D-Ohio), Dave Min (D-Calif.) and George Whitesides (D-Calif.)—have already voluntarily sworn off stock trading this year in order to avoid conflicts of interest, be them actual or perceived.
Trump, as president, is exempt from most of the STOCK Act's requirements, although members of his Cabinet and broader administration, including Small Business Administrator Kelly Loeffler, are facing scrutiny for their personal stock trades made while in office, Fortune reported last week.
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
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