Department of Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, a former Democratic governor of Michigan, is under congressional scrutiny for alleged illegal stock trades and violations of federal laws. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) demanded answers Tuesday, accusing Granholm of “institutional corruption” within the Biden administration.
Granholm claims the oversight was a mistake. But Hawley brought up a report that claimed she had violated the Stock Act nine times in 2021 and that she’d violated the Hatch Act several times as well.
During the Senate hearing, Hawley reminded Granholm that he had previously asked her directly if she held individual stocks, to which she replied that she did not. “It turns out that was false. You owned multiple individual stocks, and you neglected to report them to this committee for months afterwards. Why did you mislead this committee?” Hawley questioned.
Sen. Josh Hawley slams Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm over stock ownership: ‘Institutionalized corruption’ https://t.co/7rr5HYNg9b pic.twitter.com/GdwQ94wmiy
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Granholm responded, “Oh my goodness, I believed that I had sold all individual stocks, and I was incorrect.” She confessed to owning six individual stocks in a June 2023 letter to the committee, claiming to have sold them in May.
Addressing Hawley, Granholm said, “So I came back as soon as I found out that, in fact, I had not sold all individual stocks.”
Hawley, unimpressed with the explanation, continued, “Why did you mislead us and what were you hiding? Why did you wait so long? Why did you hide this?”
