Regardless of party, crooked politicians have got to go: McDermott defends timing of stock trades

Of course he does.

ANY member of government, elected or no, REGARDLESS of party or position, that has profited off their position should not only be kicked out of Congress, they should be arrested, tried, convicted and imprisoned for life.

And that means this clown:

McDermott defends timing of stock trades

A new book that was the basis of a recent "60 Minutes" investigation into congressional insider trading alleges Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Seattle, made almost $40,000 in 2005 by flipping shares in a Canadian biotech firm that stood to benefit from a massive bioterrorism-defense bill he voted for.

By Kyung M. Song

Seattle Times Washington bureau

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U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Seattle, seen at a news conference last month, has been criticized for the timing of a stock trade.

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Crooked plan and simple. Mc Dermott showed his true colors in the cell phone scandal. ... (December 10, 2011, by Valiantsailor) Read more

If the rest of us would be in prison for this then McDermott should also be in prison now. (December 10, 2011, by anthonyd) Read more

He lied about intercepting those phone calls, he continually lied. A court found him... (December 10, 2011, by 50 Yr Old Professional) Read more

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WASHINGTON — A new book that was the basis of a recent "60 Minutes" investigation into congressional insider trading alleges Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Seattle, made almost $40,000 in 2005 by flipping shares in a Canadian biotech firm that stood to benefit from a massive bioterrorism-defense bill he voted for.

The book, by Peter Schweizer, a fellow at the conservative Hoover Institution at Stanford University, said McDermott "bet big" by buying 2,000 shares in ID Biomedical of Quebec for $10 apiece in June 2004. That was six weeks before the House of Representatives passed the $5.6 billion bill dubbed Project Bioshield.

It turns out, however, that an $8 million grant for ID Biomedical's Bothell subsidiary — a grant that Schweizer said resulted from the legislation's passage — actually was funded by a separate competition launched a year before by the National Institutes of Health.

And McDermott says he didn't pick the stock. Instead, he said, the purchase was initiated by his financial consultant at the time at Wells Fargo, Jane Suzick, and he merely gave consent.
"I never make suggestions about what to invest in and I don't suggest when to buy or sell anything. I just take advice from my financial consultant and approve what she suggests," McDermott said through his spokesman, Kinsey Kiriakos. "Alas, I'm no richer than I was years ago."

Suzick, now with Morgan Stanley Smith Barney's Seattle office, declined to comment.
Suzick's stock pick paid off big. McDermott unloaded his ID Biomedical shares in September 2005 for nearly three times what he'd paid. His net profit after 15 months: $37,816.

"McDermott's timing was nearly perfect," Schweizer wrote.

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