Nancy Pelosi’s husband dumped thousands of Visa shares worth over $500K — just 2 months before the DOJ’s antitrust lawsuit. And it’s reigniting political trading rumors

Some believe the pair have too much influence and institutional knowledge to trade fairly — in the Visa case, potentially helping them to avoid a drop in the stock value amid the DOJ lawsuit — but they have repeatedly brushed off any allegations of wrongdoing.

Pelosi’s spokesperson has said multiple times that the congresswoman “does not own any stocks.” The money moves are being made by her husband, Paul — and, as is required by law, she then discloses his trades to Congress via Periodic Transaction Reports.

Here’s what’s gotten her critics so riled up.

Another timely trade

The DOJ filed a civil antitrust lawsuit against payments giant Visa on Tuesday, Sept. 24, for anticompetitive conduct and monopolizing the debit market.

It claims Visa illegally paid its rivals to keep them out of the market and hinder innovation. As a result, it holds about a 60% share of the debit payments market and earns about $7 billion annually in debit swipe fees, per the DOJ.

“We allege that Visa has unlawfully amassed the power to extract fees that far exceed what it could charge in a competitive market,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland in a press release announcing the lawsuit. “Merchants and banks pass along those costs to consumers, either by raising prices or reducing quality or service. As a result, Visa’s unlawful conduct affects not just the price of one thing – but the price of nearly everything.”

Visa stock slumped shortly after the DOJ’s announcement — but unlike some investors, the Pelosis’ came out of that dip without too much pain.

That’s because Paul sold 2,000 Visa shares — worth between $500,001 and $1 million — on July 1, 2024, according to Pelposi’s congressional filing on July 3. The trade was defined as a “partial” sale, meaning he did not unload his entire holding.

There was no public indication at the time of the transaction that the DOJ was preparing to sue Visa.

This case bears some comparison to another well-timed trade Paul made in December 2022, when he sold 30,000 shares of Google (GOOGL) stock just one month before the tech giant was sued over alleged antitrust violations.

Banning lawmakers from trading

There is a growing chorus of Americans who think lawmakers — and their spouses — should be banned from trading because of the unfair advantage they have as well-connected people with the inside track on legislation that might affect a company or industry.

Christopher Josephs, a tech entrepreneur who runs the “Nancy Pelosi Stock Tracker” on X, is firmly in that camp. On X, he highlights politicians’ trades “so we [Americans] can invest alongside” or, even better, “get them banned from trading.”

In a post on Monday, Sept. 23 — one day before the DOJ filed the antitrust lawsuit — he described Pelosi’s timely sale of Visa shares as “wild.” But in a follow-up post, he was quick to state: “No one's proven she trades on insider info.”