One of the three Democrats running against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., in the primary blasted her as a "corrupt oligarch."
Shahid Buttar, a liberal Democrat, made his comments during an interview with the New York Post. His remarks came after Pelosi's husband, Paul, was booked early Sunday at the Napa County, California, Sheriff's Office on DUI charges, with a blood alcohol content of 0.08 or higher. Bail was set at $5,000.
The California Highway Patrol reported that Paul Pelosi's 2021 Porsche was struck in Napa Valley by another car late Saturday night. About 80 minutes later, Pelosi was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence.
"As important as it is to prosecute drunk driving, the Pelosi family's continuing history of insider trading — and Nancy's refusal to debate any challengers since 1987 — are frankly even more scandalous," Buttar said.
The Post had reported that Pelosi and her husband purchased millions of dollars' worth of call options for stocks, including Salesforce, Good, Disney, and Roblox in December 2021.
The newspaper noted that her husband bought $2.2 million in Tesla stock in March.
The Post said the couple has a net worth estimated to be more than $100 million. But it noted that Nancy Pelosi does not own stock.
"She's not someone there to represent constituents," Buttar said. "She's there to fill her pockets, and her record proves it's what she spent most of her time doing. The hope I have is that San Francisco can liberate its voice in Washington, and remove a corrupt oligarch who's been corrupting our city's voice for a generation."
And he added: "Pelosi's individual corruption has enabled institutional corruption. San Francisco's institutional corruption plays a key role in federal corruption. I think many people are increasingly concerned about it."
Pelosi's office did not return a request from the Post for comment.
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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