GOP Critics Sometimes Own Big Tech Stocks They Slam

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A number of Republican Senate candidates running on anti-Big Tech platforms own stock in the same companies they pledge to hold accountable if elected to Congress.

This drew accusations, from Democrats and some fellow Republicans, of hypocrisy.

Others say that claiming someone won’t hold Facebook or Google accountable because they have stock in the company is a weak attack, and accusations of conflict of interest don’t hold water.

In Ohio, former state GOP chairwoman Jane Timken called Big Tech “an arm of the Democratic Party” and said “their immunity privileges must be stripped.” In May, after Facebook said it would keep former President TrumpDonald TrumpTrump said it would ‘fairly’ treat Jan 6 rioters if re-elected: ‘If it requires pardons, we’ll give them pardons Month Overthrowing Roe isn’t just about red states or abortion MORE’s account suspended until at least 2023, she said “conservative censorship must end.”

Timken, who is running in a GOP primary to succeed retired Sen. Rob PortmanRobert (Rob) Jones PortmanSunday preview: Justice Breyer announces his retirement from the Supreme Court of Defense and National Security overnight – the Pentagon tells Russia to stand down Ukraine sent letter to senators seeking specific information Russian sanctions military assistance MORE (R-Ohio) holds stock valued between $800,000 and $1.6 million in Google, Facebook and Apple through herself and her family, according to her financial disclosure reports. A spokesperson for the Timken campaign did not respond to requests for comment.

In Pennsylvania, Republicans are running to replace incumbent Senator Pat ToomeyPatrick (Pat) Joseph ToomeyConservatives are outraged that Sarah Bloom Raskin actually believes in capitalismMeet Washington’s most ineffective senator: Joe ManchinBlack women seek to leverage gains in the upcoming elections MORE(R) headquarters are also campaigning on anti-Big Tech platforms.

Businessman Jeff Bartos tweeted about the need to “fight Big Tech’s aggressive silencing of conservatives” and that “Big Tech must be brought under control”.

His financial disclosure report shows that Bartos, through his wife, owns shares valued between $200,000 and $500,000 in Google. He owns Apple stock valued between $300,000 and $600,000, through a spouse and in a joint account.

A spokesperson for Bartos did not respond to a request for comment.

Tech stocks could end up becoming a campaign issue.

Former Ohio State Treasurer Josh Mandel, who is also running for Portman’s seat, criticized Republicans for owning stock in companies they pledge to regulate.

“I don’t believe that United States senators should be able to secretly get information from the halls of the United States Senate and then personally put money in their pockets because of it,” Mandel said during an interview. a debate this week with Democratic candidate Morgan Harper.

“Republicans are just as guilty as Democrats of putting money in their pockets,” he added.

Mandel, an outspoken critic of Big Tech, previously owned thousands of dollars in tech giants. He sold all of his tech stock shortly after joining the race, according to his campaign.

Mandel’s financial disclosure report filed in August showed he had earned thousands of dollars in capital gains income from Apple and Google.

Another Ohio primary candidate, conservative author and venture capitalist JD Vance, also criticized Big Tech. Its financial disclosure reports do not include stock holdings of Facebook, Amazon, Google and Apple, although PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel donated $10 million to a super PAC supporting Vance’s run.

“If you’ve spent time looking into this, you’ll see that Peter Thiel is one of the leading voices opposing the dangers of Big Tech. We wear his support with a badge of honor,” Vance campaign spokesperson Taylor Van Kirk said in a statement.

Famed Doctor Mehmet OzMehmet OzThese Senate seats are up for grabs in 2022 Pennsylvania Republican David McCormick launches Senate campaign McCormick steps down from hedge fund to consider Pennsylvania Senate PLUS bid, which is running as a Republican for the seat of Toomey, has also vowed to face Big Tech in his campaign. He has until April to file his disclosure after requesting an extension.

Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman and Rep. Conor Lamb (Pennsylvania), two of the Democratic candidates seeking to overturn the seat, do not own shares in the tech giants, based on their disclosures. They also spoke out in support of proposals to ban Congressional stock trading.

Joe Calvello, a spokesman for Fetterman, said “people are tired of the hypocrisy” of lawmakers making money from the companies they are supposed to regulate.

“That’s wrong,” Calvello said. “You have to put your money where your mouth is. If you’re going to say these are horrible companies, but you own stock in them, what does that say about you and the authenticity of your beliefs? »

Dough Heye, a GOP strategist, said the investments “certainly open [candidates] subject to criticism, especially if they are more outspoken.

But he said it was harder to track how any potential hypocrisy poses conflicts of interest.

“Yes, the Democrats can claim hypocrisy, but it’s hard to say then that [the candidates] are also trying to get rich by attacking companies they might have shares in,” Heye said. “So that second argument just wouldn’t work.”

A Democratic candidate for the Pennsylvania Senate, Montgomery County Board of Commissioners Chairman Val Arkoosh (D), also owns stock valued at thousands of dollars in Apple, Google, Amazon and Facebook. Arkoosh hasn’t issued the same level of scathing criticism of the corporations as her GOP opponents, but she has called for breaking up the corporations and criticized them for spreading misinformation.

Campaign spokeswoman Rachel Petri said Arkoosh “supports legislation prohibiting members of Congress from owning and trading stock and, if elected, would put its qualifying assets in a blind trust. “.

In Arizona, GOP candidate Jim Lamon, who is running in the GOP primary to challenge Senator Mark KellyMark KellyPoll: Sinema’s approval is higher among Arizona Republicans than Democrats censure Sinema MORE (D- Arizona), accused “Big Tech” of “buying our candidates for the United States Senate”.

Lamon held shares valued between $1,000 and $15,000 in Google, Amazon, Apple and Facebook, according to his financial disclosure filed in August. A campaign spokesperson said Lamon divested from individual stocks in December and now only owns funds.

Jordan Carr Peterson, an assistant professor at North Carolina State University, said a candidate holding stock in companies he criticizes is more a political issue than an ethical one, because candidates likely don’t think that using their platform to “destroy a business” will cause it to rise in stock value.

“It’s less about legal ethics or legislative ethics and more about how much can we believe these critics are sincere or are they just saying this because it’s politically valuable to them?” he said.

Voters may be more on the lookout for candidates who put their “money where [their] mouth is” this year as bipartisan momentum builds in the House and Senate to ban lawmakers from trading stocks, said Delaney Marsco, senior ethics counsel at the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center.

The push to ban lawmakers from trading stocks is growing as lawmakers and congressional candidates from both parties seek to capitalize on the proposal’s huge popularity.thehill.com

“They care that members of Congress act in the public interest and not in their own financial interest. I wouldn’t be surprised if that raises any red flags for voters,” Marsco said.

“Members of the public are starting to really see how much of a problem that is. horizon,” she added.

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