WASHINGTON — House Financial Services Committee Chairman Spencer Bachus is getting another round of negative press coverage at an inopportune time.
The Washington Post
There doesn't appear to be any new information about Bachus' conduct. It's been clear for some time that at the height of the financial crisis, Bachus was trading stock options following meetings with top government officials.
Bachus has defended the trades by arguing that a person did not need to be meeting with Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke to know that the economy was in bad shape in September 2008.
But the probe by the Office of Congressional Ethics shines new light on an uncomfortable issue for Bachus.
His most formidable GOP opponent, state Sen. Scott Beason, quickly seized on the Post article to bolster his argument that Alabama voters should make a change.
"The fact that Congressman Bachus is now apparently being investigated by the Office of Congresional Ethics should be troubling to the residents of District 6," Beason said in a press release. "Alabamians need to be sure that their representative is looking out for them, not lining his own pockets. It is now clearer than ever that we need to send new leadership to clean up the corruption and unethical behavior in Washington."
The Post article, which relied on anonymous sources, stated that Bachus is under investigation for possible violations of insider-trading laws.
Bachus issued a statement to the Post that read: "The Office of Congressional Ethics has requested information, and I welcome this opportunity to present the facts and set the record straight."
The Alabama Republican's stock option trades were reported in a book, "Throw Them All Out," by Peter Schweizer, and in a "60 Minutes" story.
Those reports led Congress to act on a bill that would ban insider trading by members of Congress. The House and Senate have now passed different versions of the bill, which President Obama is expected to sign into law.
