Money Can't Buy Pelosi, But Perhaps Visa Can
There are some things money can't buy, but former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi might not be one of them. The real question being asked in Politics today is whether or not Congress "paid for" and, more specifically, did Visa attempt to buy Pelosi?
CBS's 60 minutes suggested that Nancy Pelosi might be a corrupt official. Specifically, CBS suggested that Mrs. Pelosi is one of many lawmakers whose trades could be seen as a conflict of interest. Pelosi and her husband participated in the IPO for Visa in 2008, among others. Pelosi and her husband purchased 5,000 shares of Visa at the initial price and two days later it was worth $64 dollars. Not everyone is allowed to participate in an IPO, only special people like Pelosi and her husband.
According to other sources, Visa's political action committee gave Pelosi's campaign $1,000 for her re-election. Two days later, Pelosi met with Visa executives privately in her office. One of Pelosi's former aids was hired by Visa to lobby other members of Congress, not Pelosi. In the process of his campaign contributions to members of Congress, Pelosi's campaign got $1,000.
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