Texas GOP Rep. Dan Crenshaw recently invested thousands of dollars in big tech stocks, according to a periodic transaction report signed Dec. 1, 2022.
Crenshaw invested between $1,001 to $15,000 in Alphabet Inc., Meta Platforms Inc., Apple Inc. and Amazon Inc. on Oct. 25 2022, the report disclosed. Alphabet is the parent company of Google, and Meta is the parent company of Facebook.
He also made investments ranging from $1,001 to $15,000 in Wynn Resorts, United States Oil Fund and Direxion Financial Bull 3X Shares ETF, the report shows. Wynn resorts operates luxury hotels and casinos in Las Vegas, according to its website.
Breaking: Dan Crenshaw (R) TX just went in on Big Tech
He bought shares of $META, $GOOGL, $AMZN, & $AAPL totaling up to $60K
He was the 5th best political trader in 2021 according to Unusual Whales
— Nancy Pelosi Stock Tracker ♟ (@PelosiTracker_) December 5, 2022
The Direxion ETF invests primarily in the financial sector, with holdings in firms such as Berkshire Hathaway, JP Morgan and Wells Fargo, its website explains.
The United States Oil Fund is an ETF designed to track short-term oil futures contracts, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) disclosures show. Oil futures contracts are financial instruments designed to enable investors to participate in the global oil market and hedge future price risk, according to financial manager Charles Schwab.
A Crenshaw spokesperson told the Daily Caller that “all of these transactions were under $2,000” and that the “investments were made when the market dipped, which is exactly what countless other Americans do when they invest in the stock market.”
“Rep. Crenshaw has a total of $10,000 invested in the stock market. These are incredibly low dollar amounts compared to other members of Congress. If you think this is a story, you are obsessive and desperate,” the spokesperson added.
His spokesperson directed the Daily Caller to Crenshaw’s legislation targeting big tech and protecting free speech. In a 2021 bill, Crenshaw proposed amendments to Section 230(c) of the Communications Act of 1934 that would create a nondiscrimination carve-out and a lawful content protection that would prohibit platforms from censoring legal speech.
Twittergate just confirmed what we already knew—these companies are packed with left wing middle management that are happily catering to the Democrats’ agenda.
Republicans on the Energy and Commerce Committee, including myself, have been drafting legislation to stop this.
— Dan Crenshaw (@DanCrenshawTX) December 5, 2022
Crenshaw promoted the legislation in a Dec.5 Twitter thread, responding to the “Twitter Files” posted by veteran journalist Matt Taibbi, which disclosed details surrounding the platform’s decision to censor the New York Post’s reporting on Hunter Biden’s laptop.
He began trading stocks in March 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the CARES Act economic legislation was making its way through Congress, the Daily Beast reported at the time. He initially failed to disclose the transactions, allegedly violating the STOCK Act, which subjects lawmakers to disclosure requirements, according to the Beast. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Rep. Dan Crenshaw Campaign Paid Firm That Employs His Wife)
Crenshaw previously told a conservative podcaster that “you have no way to better yourself” in Congress without trading stocks. He expressed support during the interview for banning individual stock trades but not ETF trades. Later in the interview, he explained why he believes representatives have to trade stocks to support their families.
Crenshaw’s campaign committee was recently fined $42,000 by the Federal Election Commission for failing to return $220,000 in illegal campaign contributions, the Daily Beast reported on Dec.2. The campaign paid the fine as part of a conciliation agreement signed with the FEC on Nov.2, documents show.
