Paul Pelosi dumped millions in Google stock prior to DOJ antitrust lawsuit: report

A Periodic Transaction Report filed with the House of Representatives showed that the three sales of 10,000 shares had yielded Pelosi capital gains of more than $200 each, but the exact amount was not disclosed.

The three separate transactions took place between December 20 and 28, and each involved amounts from $500,000 and $1,000,000, putting the total stock dump at between $1.5 million and $3 million.

The antitrust lawsuit against Alphabet was filed on Tuesday on behalf of eight states and the Department of Justice. The suit accuses the company of having "corrupted legitimate competition in the ad tech industry by engaging in a systematic campaign to seize control of the wide swath of high-tech tools used by publishers, advertisers, and brokers, to facilitate digital advertising."

Pelosi, who runs a San Fransicso-based investment and venture capital firm, came under scrutiny last year after he bought millions of dollars in shares of chip manufacturer Nvidia prior to Congress' passing of the CHIPS Act, which injected billions into the industry.

Sen. Josh Hawley has since introduced a bill tactfully named the Preventing Elected Leaders from Owning Securities and Investments (PELOSI) Act, which would "prohibit members of Congress and their spouses from holding or trading individual stocks" while in office.

"For too long, politicians in Washington have taken advantage of the economic system they write the rules for, turning profits for themselves at the expense of the American people," Hawley said, pointing out that too often members of Congress are "providing oversight of the same companies they invest in," and "outperforming the market time and again."

If passed, the act would require lawmakers six months from assuming office to "divest any prohibited holdings or place those holdings in a blind trust for the remainder of their tenure."