What began as a selfie request quickly turned into an ambush pressing former Rep. Elaine Luria, D-Va., on her personal finances and stock trading while serving in Congress, according to a video posted by a top staffer for Rep. Jen Kiggans, R-Va.
“Elaine Luria, how much money did you make insider training?” the unidentified man in the video asked.
“Your net worth went over, over 2000%,” he continued. “It’s a shame. You’re so corrupt.”
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The man repeatedly questioned Luria about the growth of her net worth during her four years in Congress.
“How do you explain it, Elaine Luria? You were in Congress for four years, and your net worth went over 2,000%. Explain that, Elaine, Luria. Explain it.
Financial disclosure records show Luria entered Congress with substantial investment holdings. No major controversies over a spike in her personal finances during her time serving in Congress have been reported on.
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In 2022, as support grew for legislation banning members of Congress from trading individual stocks, Luria loudly opposed these proposals. She argued that the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act, signed into law in 2012, already provided safeguards against insider trading by lawmakers and federal officials.
“This whole concept is bullsh–,” Luria said in 2022 about banning members of Congress from stock trading.
The confrontation comes as scrutiny of lawmakers’ stock trading has remained a bipartisan issue on Capitol Hill, with members of both parties often facing questions about whether Congress should be permitted to buy and sell individual stocks while serving in office. Proposals to tighten or ban congressional stock trading have been brought to the floor over the last decade, but lawmakers have yet to enact any prohibition.
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The video also comes as Luria is seeking a political comeback in Virginia’s competitive 2nd Congressional District.
Luria served in the House from Jan. 2019 to Jan. 2023 representing Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District, and is running in the upcoming primary to be the Democratic nominee to face Kiggans, the current incumbent, in the midterm elections. A general-election matchup between the two would be a rematch of the 2022 race, when Kiggans defeated Luria and flipped the seat for Republicans.
Luria’s campaign did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
