Congressman Tim Moore Misses Disclosure Deadline for Stock Trades Worth Millions

Congressman Tim Moore (R-N.C.) has been found to have missed a required disclosure deadline under the federal transparency law, failing to properly disclose personal stock purchases worth hundreds of thousands of dollars made around President Donald Trump’s April 2 “Liberation Day” tariff declaration. According to congressional financial records, Moore made a series of stock trades involving American Airlines Group, Ford Motor Company, and Harley-Davidson Inc. during early and mid-April, but did not disclose these trades until after the federal deadline.

The federal Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act requires federal lawmakers to disclose any personal stock trade within 45 days of the trade’s execution. Moore’s trades were disclosed on Friday, well after the deadline. Moore’s congressional office acknowledged a request for comment but did not immediately respond to questions about the trades, their timing, or the reasons for the delayed disclosure. Moore later stated that the trades were disclosed within the 30-day grace period for technical delays recognized by the House Ethics Committee and that no late fee was assessed.

Moore, who serves as vice chairman of the U.S. House’s Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, disclosed making six separate purchases of American Airlines Group stock from April 1 through April 22, worth between $90,000 and $300,000. He then sold American Airlines shares worth between $250,000 and $500,000 on May 2, indicating that he earned an undisclosed amount of capital gains from the transaction. Similarly, Moore made four purchases of Ford Motor Company stock from April 7 to April 10, worth between $95,000 and $250,000, and sold shares valued at between $100,000 and $250,000 on April 15. He also purchased Harley-Davidson stock on April 4 and May 1, and sold shares worth between $50,000 and $100,000 on May 14, noting capital gains from the sale.

While Moore’s trades were made within the legal framework, the timing of these transactions has raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest. Aaron Scherb, senior director of legislative affairs for Common Cause, a nonprofit government watchdog group, stated that the timing of Moore’s stock trades “certainly looks and smells bad.” This is not the first time Moore has faced scrutiny for financial disclosures; during his run for Congress, a personal financial disclosure filed by Moore failed to disclose full information about legal clients or provide mandatory reasons for withholding the information.

First-time offenders of the STOCK Act are subject to a $200 late-filing fine, which is generally waived for trades that are less than a month past the federal deadline. Repeat or willful offenders can face steeper penalties or even a criminal investigation, although such actions are rare. Scherb noted that the penalties for violating the STOCK Act are minimal, leading many members to ignore the law. Dozens of members of Congress have violated the STOCK Act’s disclosure provisions this decade.

Moore is not the only member of Congress who made notable stock trades around Trump’s April 2 tariff declaration. Other representatives, including Byron Donalds, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Julie Johnson, Jared Moskowitz, Dan Newhouse, and Jefferson Shreve, also made significant trades during this period. This has sparked a bipartisan effort to strengthen the STOCK Act and ban or limit members of Congress from buying or selling individual stocks. Lawmakers from both parties, including President Donald Trump, House Speaker Mike Johnson, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, have signaled support for a congressional stock-trade ban. Additionally, at least three members of Congress have voluntarily sworn off stock trading this year to avoid conflicts of interest.