Washington, D.C. — Today, Rep. Robert Garcia, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, and Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, Ranking Member of the Oversight Subcommittee on Military and Foreign Affairs, demanded answers from Secretary Pete Hegseth after the Financial Times revealed Secretary Hegseth’s broker at Morgan Stanley contacted BlackRock and attempted to make a multimillion-dollar investment in defense companies in the weeks immediately leading up to the U.S. strikes on Iran.
“Secretary Hegseth’s apparent attempt to enrich himself during the lead-up to U.S. military action is a stunning abuse of power and a betrayal of public trust. Hegseth appears to have tried to profit from a war he was directing, in a brazen and outrageous act of corruption. The American people deserve answers on whether the Secretary put his portfolio over our military personnel. Oversight Democrats are committed to fighting for full accountability,” said Ranking Member Robert Garcia.
“Secretary Hegseth has already shown that he is unfit to be Secretary of Defense. But now there's evidence that he is using the office to enrich himself through a war he urged the President to start. This is corruption, plain and simple. He must answer questions about his actions before our Committee,” said Rep. Suhas Subramanyam.
Ranking Member Garcia and Rep. Subramanyam sent letters to Secretary Hegseth, Morgan Stanley, and BlackRock. In the letter to Secretary Pete Hegseth, the Members wrote, “As of today, 13 brave U.S. servicemembers have been killed in action in connection to the Trump Administration’s illegal war with Iran. The Administration launched the war with no plan to protect the Strait of Hormuz, to protect the American people from the economic impacts of the war, or to protect American facilities from attack. You did, however, apparently plan to profit from the chaos you have unleashed. Yesterday, the Financial Times reported that, at the same time you were planning to launch attacks against Iran, your broker at Morgan Stanley sought to invest millions of dollars in defense industry companies on your behalf prior to the start of the Iran war. Congress and the American people should know whether the Secretary of Defense is a war-profiteer who betrayed the trust of the men and women he put in harm's way. We demand that you preserve all records, documents, and communications pertaining to your financial investments while serving in public office.”
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