The U.S. Senate candidate who has received Trump’s endorsement, Trent Staggs, accused Rep. John Curtis, R-Utah, of insider trading as he concluded his remarks during the Republican primary debate on Monday night.
Federal funding to develop a COVID test was granted to Abbott Laboratories, a medical device business, on March 4, 2020. That same day, according to Staggs, Curtis bought stock in the business.
“This is the problem in Congress at a time when somebody should be looking out for their constituents. They end up looking out for their own profit,” the current mayor of Riverton, Staggs stated.
Saying that he had a contract with Utah, Staggs went on, stating that he would “ban the trading of individual stocks for Congress and their families.”
He stated that, “I want to also stop members of Congress from retiring and becoming lobbyists and enriching themselves further.”
Glen Mills, the debate moderator, announced that they were running out of time and would have to end the debate after Staggs’ closing remarks. “You have to let me respond to that,” Curtis shot back.
Mills stated, “As fast as possible.”
Curtis stated that, “That is such a low shot. You wait until I have no response. You throw something out that I can’t respond to. You’ve accused me of a felony here tonight. You better have very good evidence, and I’d like to challenge you to produce that evidence that somehow I’ve committed a felony.”
Financial reports verified to The Salt Lake Tribune that Curtis purchased stocks that increased in value as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. “The real story isn’t as damning,” Curtis told the newspaper at the time, responding to questions from reporters.
According to Curtis, a mutual fund manager conducted the majority of the stock acquisitions, including those of Abbott Laboratories and BlackRock Inc., without his knowledge. The purchases coincided with important events, such as Abbott’s acceptance of a COVID-19 test and BlackRock’s role in steering bond purchases during a recession.
According to Curtis, a mutual fund manager conducted the majority of the stock acquisitions, including those of Abbott Laboratories and BlackRock Inc., without his knowledge.
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The purchases coincided with important events, such as Abbott’s acceptance of a COVID-19 test and BlackRock’s role in steering bond purchases during a recession.
Running to succeed retiring Senator Mitt Romney, Staggs rose to prominence in 2020 by opposing mask mandates during the coronavirus pandemic.
Apart from Trump’s blessing, Sen. Rand Paul, a Republican from Kentucky, also supports Staggs.
