Ethics panel says Rep. Mike Kelly violated code of conduct during investigation into wife’s stock trades

The House Ethics Committee concluded there was “substantial evidence” that Rep. Mike Kelly (R., Pa.) violated the congressional code of conduct, following a four-year-long investigation into stock trades made by his wife.

Although the bipartisan committee’s investigation found no evidence of insider trading, an ethics report released Friday reproached Kelly, who represents Butler County, for failing to “meet his duty of candor” during the investigation and urged him and his wife, Victoria Kelly, to divest of any remaining stocks in the steel company Cleveland-Cliffs.

In April 2020, Victoria Kelly purchased $23,075 worth of stock in Cleveland-Cliffs, which she later sold for a profit of $64,476.06, according to the report.

Rep. Kelly had been pushing President Donald Trump’s first administration for trade protections to help prevent the closure of a Cleveland-Cliffs factory in his district, according to Politico.

Cleveland-Cliffs, which is the second-largest steelmaker in the U.S., operates facilities in Coatesville and Butler. In May, the company announced the closure of two plants in eastern Pennsylvania.

Victoria Kelly’s purchase came the day after Rep. Kelly learned that the Department of Commerce had begun an investigation into imposing tariffs on the type of steel produced at the Butler plant, the ethics report said.

Members of Congress and federal employees are prohibited from using nonpublic information learned in an official capacity for personal financial gain by the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act of 2012, or STOCK Act.

The House Committee on Ethics is tasked with setting standards for ethical behavior for representatives and conducting investigations into potential violations.

Victoria Kelly did not fully cooperate with the investigation and the committee was “unable to determine whether her stock purchase was improper,” according to the report. She refused to participate in an interview or to respond to written questions, citing recent health issues and prior cooperation with document requests.

“Representative Kelly’s conduct with respect to Cleveland-Cliffs and his wife’s stock purchase raised significant concerns for the Committee, even if it did not rise to the level of insider trading or clearly violate conflict of interest rules,” the committee wrote.

The report also concluded that Kelly had “not demonstrated sufficient appreciation for the harm to the institution caused by the appearance of impropriety.”