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Regulation is a poor substitute for criminal prosecution. Law enforcement at the Federal level needs to investigate and prosecute cases where members of Congres
by andrewla 5y ago
Regulation is a poor substitute for criminal prosecution. Law enforcement at the Federal level needs to investigate and prosecute cases where members of Congress have even apparently abused their position for personal profit.
Banning stock trading will just push things into more indirect methods; giving law enforcement the power to enforce the law means that the very fact that they attempted to use indirect methods are an indicator of consciousness of guilt.
- Denvercoder9 5y agoYou can only prosecute after it has been made illegal, though.
- andrewla 5y agoIt is illegal [1]. The phrasing is very broad: > (a)Except as permitted by subsection (b) hereof, whoever ... participates personally and substantially as a Government officer or employee ... in a judicial or other proceeding ... in which, to his knowledge, he ... has a financial interest— Shall be subject to the penalties set forth in section 216 of this title. All that is lacking is the willingness of law enforcement (and the executive branch) to take action. [1] https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/208 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/208
- Denvercoder9 5y agoI'm no lawyer, but I would read that quote as only prohibiting the participation in proceedings when you have a financial interest in the subject matter, but not the other way around: using the knowledge you gained from participating in proceedings to create financial gain afterwards.