Sen. David Perdue Faces Renewed Scrutiny Over Stock Trades

Perdue sold over $1 million worth of stock in financial firm Cardlytics earlier this year shortly before its stock price fell amid the departure of its CEO and poor sales projections, later buying back a “substantial portion” after the price bottomed out, the Times reported.

The Justice Department reportedly came across an email from Cardlytics’ CEO to Perdue – who served on the firm’s board before his election to the Senate – two days before the sale warning of “upcoming changes,” but the DOJ declined to pursue charges and closed the case months later.

The Perdue campaign confirmed the investigation to the Times but noted they “quickly and independently cleared Senator Perdue of any wrongdoing,” a claim reflected in a TV ad the campaign has run.

The report comes after Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), the chair of the House Oversight Subcommittee on Economic Policy, sent a letter, first reported by the Daily Beast and obtained by Forbes, urging the SEC to probe separate trades by Perdue.

The letter took aim at Perdue for purchasing stock in a Navy supply company as the Senate Armed Services Committee, which he chairs, awarded it federal contracts in the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act.

A Perdue spokesperson told the Daily Beast that the senator “doesn’t manage his trades” and that they are “handled by outside financial advisors without his prior input or approval”; Forbes has reached out to the Perdue campaign for comment.