It’s hard to imagine a worse Kentucky senator than the odious Mitch McConnell, but junior Senator Rand Paul has made it his mission to topple the chelonian Grim Reaper in the race to the bottom.
Paul revealed this week in a late financial disclosure that his wife Kelley Paul purchased up to $15,000 in stock in Gilead Sciences, the maker of the COVID-19 antiviral drug remdesivir. This reveal comes 18 months after Paul’s wife purchased the shares in February 2020, weeks before the pandemic changed our lives forever.
Yes, the very same Rand Paul who attacked Dr. Anthony Fauci repeatedly during Senate testimony and singlehandedly delayed the vote on H.R.6201, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act in March 2020 (before testing positive himself).
In fact, Paul has made it his mission to spread misinformation about COVID-19, and just this week was suspended by YouTube for a video where he baselessly claimed that masks didn’t protect people from the virus (they do).
Paul isn’t the first Republican senator to use his knowledge of the severity of the pandemic for financial gain. North Carolina senator Richard Burr sold information regarding the severity of COVID-19 to his wealthy friends and donors. Former Georgia Senators Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, along with Oklahoma’s Jim Inhofe, all sold off a significant share of stocks in advance of the economic crash caused the pandemic.
Despite their best efforts, senators are not exempt from insider trading charges. The STOCK Act of 2012 requires members of Congress to disclose their stock market trades within 45 days. Paul’s disclosure came 16 months late.
Paul’s spokesperson Kelsey Cooper claimed that the initial filing wasn’t properly transmitted, adding that the Pauls lost money on the investment. “Last year Dr. Paul completed the reporting form for an investment made by his wife using her own earnings, an investment which she has lost money on. This was done in the appropriate reporting time window,” she said in a statement.
New of Rand Paul’s financial disclosure quickly took the internet by storm, where politicians and pundits roasted the senator’s duplicitous behavior:
Anyways shout out to @JoeNeguse and @CongressmanRaja as we continue plugging away at the Ban Conflicted Trading Act 📈💰
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) August 12, 2021
Rand Paul failed to disclose a purchase of Giliead stock after he got a COVID briefing and before the public understood the threat. His spokesperson says he realized this violation of law while completing an annual report, which he submitted Wednesday but was due … May 15.
— Walter Shaub (@waltshaub) August 12, 2021
Rand Paul
• Only senator to vote against Covid relief in March 2020
• First senator to test positive for Covid
• Suspended from YouTube for Covid misinformation
• Forgot to disclose that his wife invested in company that makes Covid treatment https://t.co/gcghTpuC9T
— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) August 12, 2021
Martha Stewart went to jail for way less than what Rand Paul & Ron Johnson did.
— The USA Singers (@TheUSASingers) August 12, 2021
A deeper dive into Rand Paul’s wife investing in Gilead for its COVID treatment is that they actually lost money.
If they’d invested in Pfizer and supported the vaccine instead, they’d be up over 38%.
They’re not only corrupt, they’re idiots.
— Nick Jack Pappas (@Pappiness) August 12, 2021
If you are a Kentucky resident who is furious over this double-doubling, then get ready: Paul is running for re-election in 2022. Now would be a great time to register to vote and to donate money to progressive candidates like Charles Booker. Booker’s statement on Paul is below:
This is absolutely crushing news. More will be shared soon, but know this…
Rand Paul must resign. pic.twitter.com/jpAk3cVabf
— Charles Booker (@Booker4KY) August 12, 2021
(via CNN, image: Anna Moneymaker-Pool/Getty Images)
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