Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) says he tried to file paperwork to disclose his wife’s investment in Gilead Sciences.
But, the Kentucky senator said he failed to hit “send” on the paperwork.
On Wednesday, Paul disclosed in a filing that his wife Kelley Paul purchased stock in Gilead Sciences, which makes the antiviral drug known as remdesivir that is used to treat COVID-19, in February 2020. However, the disclosure came 16 months after the deadline set forth in the Stock Act.
While visiting a coffee shot with his wife on Friday, Paul said, “I apologize. I was bad on the reporting.”
“I had typed it into the computer. So, about two weeks after Kelley made the stock purchase, I typed it into the computer, and I thought I pressed send, but I didn’t,” he added.
According to The Washington Post, Kelley Paul’s stock purchase was made before the World Health Organization classified the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic.
Additionally, the Post reported, “The disclosure, in a filing with the Senate, came 16 months after the 45-day reporting deadline set forth in the Stock Act, which is designed to combat insider trading.”
The paper also reported that a spokesperson for Paul said he filled out the paperwork last year and recently learned that it was not transmitted.
The spokesperson said the senator requested guidance from the Senate Ethics Committee and filed a supplemental report on Wednesday, as well as an annual disclosure form which was three months late.
Kelley Paul reportedly lost money on the sale and told reporters on Friday that she used public information in her purchase decision.
James D. Cox, a professor of law at Duke University, told the Post before Paul’s explanation, “The senator ought to have an explanation for the trade and, more importantly, why it took him almost a year and a half to discover it from his wife.”