So insider trading is legal for lawmakers now? Not quite...but its a near thing. Depends on what you mean by insider trading. You know, semantics. More from Peter Latman:

Bill Looks To Ban Insider Trading For Lawmakers and Their Aides

Posted by Peter Lattman
March 28, 2006, 8:58 am

Two Democratic lawmakers plan to introduce a bill that would prohibit members of Congress from trading stocks based on nonpublic information gathered on Capitol Hill, reports The Wall Street Journal’s Brody Mullins. Current securities law and ethics rules don’t prohibit congressmen or their staff from buying and selling securities based on information learned in the halls of Congress. The proposal would also require that lawmakers and their top aides publicly disclose stock trades within 30 days. Lastly, the bill also would require that firms that specialize in gathering “political intelligence” about the status of legislation on Capitol Hill to register with both houses of Congress.

If you’re asking yourself, “Wait a minute, members of Congress are allowed to commit insider trading?” you’re not alone. We asked the same question. But according to the WSJ story, here’s the current distinction between insider trading on Wall Street and Capitol Hill...

Click on through to read the rest, here.

-- MDT

Labels: insider trading