thefingerfuckingfemalefury:

cogitoergofun:

Lawyer for House conservatives suing Pelosi had legal troubles

The attorney for three hardline Republicans challenging the chamber's mask mandate was previously suspended by two bar associations over ins

POLITICO

The attorney for a trio of hardline House conservatives who are suing Speaker Nancy Pelosi has had his own run-in with the law.

Chris Wiest, the lawyer for Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) in their suit against Pelosi over the House’s mask mandate, was previously suspended by the Ohio and Kentucky bar associations over insider trading, according to court and Securities and Exchange Commission documents.

The SEC investigated Wiest and found in 2014 that while his legal services were being retained at a hardware business called Stanley Black & Decker, or Stanley Works, he bought 35,000 shares of stock in another company that his employer was considering acquiring.

Wiest not only faced a so-called disgorgement order from the SEC over that purchase — a sanction that requires anyone who benefits from improper acts to give up profit stemming from that activity — but he was also suspended from practicing law by both the Ohio and Kentucky bar associations for two years as a sanction for his actions.

Records show that the Kentucky-based Wiest ultimately paid the SEC more than $115,000, a sum that includes civil penalties, and was reinstated in 2018 by both bar associations. His past punishment could prove politically relevant, however, as the trio of House Freedom Caucus members lean on Wiest to challenge a Pelosi-instituted requirement that members wear masks on the chamber floor — or face potential fines if they violate that mandate.

I’m not even a little bit surprised