Sen. Kelly may have violated transparency law by waiting to file PTR disclosing Chinese-linked company stock
Kelly's office said the periodic transition record was filed this week under the advice of Senate Ethics
First-term Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., appears to have violated a federal transparency law by waiting to disclose an investment in a a technology firm with ties to China.
According to the most recent periodic transaction record (PTR) published this week, Kelly exercised his stock option on an investment in Boom Technology Inc., on April 13 but did not report it for months on a PTR, in possible violation of the the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act of 2012.
The STOCK Act makes it illegal for lawmakers to engage in insider trading and requires that they disclose the purchase of any stock larger than $1,000 between 30 to 45 days. Kelly appears to have failed to disclose his investment in Boom Technologies on the PTR before the 45-day deadline.
According to a review of Kelly's transaction by Fox News, the senator filed his PTR on Aug. 16, well outside of the 45-day deadline required by law. The amount disclosed by Kelly was between $1,001 and $15,000.
A spokesperson for Kelly told Fox News that the transaction was necessary for the asset to be moved into the senator’s newly established qualified blind trusts. He then filed the PTR late, under the advice of the Senate Select Committee on Ethics.
The senator's ownership of both stock and stock options in Boom Technology had also been disclosed on each of his two previous personal financial disclosures.
Kelly served on the advisory board of Boom Technology, a Colorado company, from 2015 to 2019. The Washington Free Beacon reported last year that Boom Technology partnered with a Chinese travel company, Trip.com Group Unlimited, in 2018 to "bring supersonic flight to China."
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The Arizona senator’s campaign also reportedly accepted a donation from a Huawei lobbyist — the Chinese technology company whose CFO is facing a possible extradition to the U.S. from Canada for criminal fraud charges.
Additionally, RealClearPolitics reported that Kelly helped a Chinese tech giant, Tencent, secure an investment with the space exploration company he helped found, WorldView, in 2020.
A violation of the STOCK Act could trigger an investigation by the Senate Select Committee on Ethics and a fine for an amount determined by the committee.
The Senate Select Committee on Ethics did not respond for a request for comment before time of publication.