Park City Congressman Blake Moore violated federal law by not disclosing stock trades

Despite having differing opinions on important topics, Congressman Moore remains hopeful that bipartisanship measures can be introduced under Biden's leadership. Photo: Congressman Moore.

PARK CITY, Utah — Republican Representative Blake Moore — whose congressional district covers Park City — recently violated the STOCK Act by failing to disclose his stock and stock-option trades, according to a Business Insider report.

The value of the trades are worth as much as $1.1 million, per new congressional records. Moore was weeks or months late in reporting more than 70 trades he made in the first half of 2021. Under the STOCK Act, House lawmakers are supposed to disclose trades within 45 days.

Despite labeling the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) as a “strategic adversary” that is “challenging our political, economic, industrial, and educational systems” and “expertly subverts the international rules-based order” — Moore made seven transactions involving Alibaba Group Holding Limited, a Chinese e-commerce company that has reported ties with the CCP.  In 2018, Alibaba worked in collaboration with the Chinese government to create a propaganda app.

Additionally, Moore — who is a member of the House Committee on Armed Services, which oversees military affairs — bought up to $60,000 worth of Raytheon stock, a major U.S. government defense contractor. Raytheon is up over 45% in the past 12 months.

“Upon entering Congress, Congressman Moore made an intentional effort to learn the new financial requirements and simplify and consolidate his financial investments,” Moore’s office said in a released statement.

“He transferred his 401k funds to the financial firm in Utah managing his investments. The firm trained a compliance advisor to submit reports on trades, and a system has now been set up to ensure that periodic transaction reports are filed on time. Congressman Moore has worked in consultation with the Ethics Committee to meet the requirements of the statutory remedy for late filings and he paid a late filing fee in full. Regarding individual stocks, Congressman Moore’s financial firm trades commonly traded stocks on his behalf that are often included in mutual funds, and he will report on these individually in accordance with House Ethics rules. Now that Congressman Moore has fully established a financial compliance process with his firm and the Ethics Committee, he will continue to ensure all future filing deadlines are met in accordance with Ethics rules.”