Nine senators are pushing U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions to reveal what he knows about a reported investigation into Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price鈥檚 stock trades that a top federal prosecutor might have begun before being fired by the Trump administration this month.
In a Wednesday, seven senators 鈥� six聽Democrats plus Vermont independent Bernie Sanders 鈥� called on Sessions to assure them that any investigation of Price 鈥� or others connected to the Trump administration 鈥� would be 鈥渁llowed to continue unimpeded.鈥� Three Democratic senators sent a different a day earlier, asking Sessions to 鈥減rovide greater clarity鈥� about why Manhattan鈥檚 former U.S. attorney, Preet Bharara, was fired and whether any investigation of Price was a factor in Bharara鈥檚 removal.
ProPublica, a nonprofit news organization, reported that Price was being by the U.S. attorney鈥檚 office for his stock trades, though it did not specify which trades Bharara was investigating before his dismissal. The website attributed its report to an unnamed person familiar with the U.S. attorney鈥檚 office, and neither the Justice Department nor other news media organizations have confirmed its existence.
If an investigation had begun, it would be hard to derail. But investigations of federal officials are always sensitive cases, said Donald Langevoort, a securities law professor at Georgetown University.
鈥淭he higher up the food chain you go, the more prominent the person is, the more confident you better be that you have the evidence you can present to a jury,鈥� he said.聽鈥淏ut I think any attempt to quash an investigation would backfire considerably.鈥�
Price, a prominent Republican congressman until he joined President Donald Trump鈥檚 Cabinet this year, was questioned extensively at his confirmation hearings about he made in health care, pharmaceutical and medical device companies while serving on the House of Representatives鈥� health subcommittee.
The activity raised conflict-of-interest concerns for some members of Congress because Price鈥檚 trades overlapped with his sponsorship of bills, advocacy or votes on issues related to those companies or their industries.
The Democrats聽 called attention to Price鈥檚 investment in a small Australian biotech firm, Innate Immunotherapeutics, which Price testified he learned about from another congressman, Rep. Chris Collins聽(R-N.Y.), Innate鈥檚 largest .
Price bought most of his shares at discounted prices in two private stock placements in 2016 offered to a small number of sophisticated investors 鈥� many with personal or professional ties to Collins.
Congressional Democrats slammed Price at his hearings for buying shares at advantageous prices not available to all investors. Some questioned whether Price had violated insider trading laws or the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act, which bans members of Congress from trading on stocks using information they received in carrying out their official duties.
鈥淒espite the many unanswered questions that remained, Republicans rushed Price鈥檚 nomination through the Senate without waiting for answers,鈥� seven senators said in Wednesday鈥檚 letter.
When he was confirmed Feb. 10, Price agreed to divest his stock holdings within 90 days of 聽taking his post. An HHS spokesperson said Price has completed those divestitures but declined to provide further information.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) was the only senator who signed both letters to Sessions.
Other names on Wednesday鈥檚 letter were Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Al Franken (D-Minn.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.).
Tuesday鈥檚 letter was also signed by Richard Blumenthal聽(D-Conn.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.).
Sessions鈥� office confirmed it had received Tuesday鈥檚 letter from the senators but declined to comment on either one. The U.S. Attorney鈥檚 Office in Manhattan also had no comment.