Dem challenger calls for probe into S.I. Rep. Malliotakis’ financial dealings

Andrea Morse , the Democratic challenger running against Rep. Nicole Malliotakis for her Staten Island congressional seat, formally demanded Friday that the House of Representatives launch an investigation into a “highly suspicious” stock purchase Malliotakis made in 2023.

As reported last year in the Wall Street Journal , Malliotakis bought stock in New York Community Bank before one of its subsidiaries took over the deposits of Signature Bank — a move that led to the stock’s value shooting up.

Before making the stock buy, Malliotakis, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, said she met with regulators to talk about the possible closure of Signature Bank . At the time, she also called for the Federal Reserve and President Biden to “review its monetary policy.”

Those facts, said Morse, merit further probing.

“What Nicole Malliotakis did in using inside information obtained in her role on the House Ways and Means committee to personally profit off of the collapse of a bank is a disqualifying act and an investigation into this trade should commence immediately,” Morse said in a written statement. ““Sadly this is not out of character for Nicole Malliotakis, and explains why she refuses to come out in support of a ban on members of Congress from trading stock.”

On Friday, Morse said she sent her request for the probe to House Ethics Chairman Rep. Michael Guest (R-Miss.) and Rep. Susan Wild , the ranking Democrat on the House Ethics Committee.

“The House Committee on Ethics must investigate this trade immediately and hold Congresswoman Malliotakis accountable,” Morse said.

Her demand comes on the heels of a bipartisan deal in the Senate to ban members of Congress and their family members from buying and selling stocks.

The incumbent Malliotakis, who’s served in Congress since 2021, is widely regarded as the favorite in the contest against Morse, a lawyer and a political neophyte. On Friday, she did not waste time in responding to the call for an investigation.

“The Office of Congressional Ethics already reviewed the Congresswoman’s small long-term retirement investment and found no wrongdoing,” said Malliotakis’ communications director Natalie Baldassarre. “[Morse] has nothing to run on, her party’s agenda has been disastrous for New York and the nation, and she is desperate to find something wrong with the Congresswoman’s stellar record. As an attorney, Andrea’s statement is irresponsible and she should apologize for making such slanderous claims without a shred of evidence.”

Morse is not alone in her concern over Malliotakis’ financial dealings.

City Councilman Justin Brannan , a longtime critic of Malliotakis, backed up Morse’s demands.

“It is so obvious what Nicole did here, and she shouldn’t get away with it,” he said. “People are tired of cable TV politicians like Nicole who think the rules don’t apply to them, and the voters are just a bunch of suckers.”