WRAL: “It’s not going to win him many friends in Washington.”
RALEIGH, NC – On Tuesday, Governor Cooper announced his support for a ban on trading of individual stocks for members of Congress and top Executive Branch officials.
Watch the announcement HERE
WRAL: Cooper says he’d support banning stock trades for top federal officials
Will Doran
- Members of Congress, the president and other top federal officials should be banned from trading stocks while in office, former Gov. Roy Cooper said Tuesday. And if elected to the U.S. Senate next year, he says, he would vote to ban federal officials including the president and members of Congress from buying and selling individual stocks.
- “It’s wrong,” Cooper said in a video statement Tuesday morning. “It leads to corruption. And it has to stop.”
- Cooper, however, said banning stock trades would be a crucial step. “To regain public trust in Washington, public officials can’t just say ‘Trust me,’” he said. “They have to show they can be trusted.”
News & Observer: Ban Congress from trading stocks? NC Senate candidate Roy Cooper says yes
Danielle Battaglia
- As members of Congress debate whether to ban stock trading, Roy Cooper, the former governor of North Carolina and a Senate candidate, announced his support for a ban.
- “A lot of people just don’t trust Washington politicians,” Cooper said in a written statement to McClatchy. “That’s because too many of them look after themselves, and not the people they’re supposed to serve. But leaders are elected to serve the people they represent, not to trade a company’s stock on insider knowledge to get rich.”
- Cooper reported never owning or trading [individual] stocks while governor, or in ethics forms he filled out for his Senate campaign.
WRAL: Roy Cooper to Support Bans on Stock Trading Among Federal Officials
- Reporter: “It’s not going to win him many friends in Washington. Most members of Congress trade stocks, whether they’re Democrats or Republicans, but the general public is strongly against this.”
WFAE: Cooper backs ban on stock trading by members of Congress, president
Nick de la Canal
- Cooper announced his position in a video posted to X, arguing that elected officials and executive branch leaders should not be allowed to profit from nonpublic information.
- “Why should a member of Congress or [top] executive branch official be able to use inside knowledge to make money trading individual company stocks on the stock market?” Cooper said. “They shouldn’t. It’s wrong. It leads to corruption. And it has to stop.”
- Cooper said he never owned or traded individual stocks during his time as governor.
- He is the Democratic front-runner in North Carolina’s Senate race. His leading Republican rival, Michael Whatley, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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