Alan Grayson’s Double Life: Congressman and Hedge Fund Manager

[cali]

The hedge fund manager boasted that he had traveled to “every country” in the world, studying overseas stock markets as he fine-tuned an investment strategy to capitalize on global companies’ suffering because of economic or political turmoil.

But the fund manager had an even more distinctive credential to showcase in his marketing material in June 2013: He was a “U.S. congressman,” Representative Alan Grayson, Democrat of Florida, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Now he is also among the leading Democratic candidates for one of Florida’s United States Senate seats.

This highly unusual dual role — a sitting House lawmaker running a hedge fund, which until recently had operations in the Cayman Islands — has led to an investigation of Mr. Grayson by the House Committee on Ethics.

<snip>

Interviews and the documents show that Mr. Grayson told potential investors in his hedge fund that they should contribute money to the fund to capitalize on the unrest he observed around the world, and to take particular advantage when there was “blood in the streets.”

The emails also show how Mr. Grayson’s work for the hedge fund — which had $16.4 million in assets as of October and only four investors since it was established — at times interfered with his other duties. In August 2015, after Mr. Grayson introduced legislation calling for larger annual increases in Social Security benefits, he signed off on a plan to highlight the proposal at an event in Tampa, Fla., emails obtained by The Times show. But the plan was scuttled, two former aides said, when economic turmoil in China sent stock markets tumbling globally and Mr. Grayson had to turn his attention to the fund.

<snip>

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/12/us/politics/alan-graysons-double-life-congressman-and-hedge-fund-manager.html?_r=0

[Jackie Wilson Said]

1. Not ideal, for sure. But I dont have to worry if Alan is on the right side

of the issues, I know he is.

[bravenak]

2. I never liked him. Has nothing to do with this but he is not a good guy.

[cali]

3. Whoa. He's done

From the article

But Mr. Grayson’s activities have long concerned his campaign aides. In private emails in June, Mr. Grayson’s aides pleaded with him to close the hedge fund, convinced that its focus on investing in nations hit by political or economic strife, and its ties to the Cayman Islands, a notorious tax haven, sharply conflicted with his image as a scold of Wall Street — even if he had not done anything wrong.

“This is going to be the drip, drip, drip story that never goes away,” Doug Dodson, Mr. Grayson’s Senate campaign manager until the end of 2015, wrote in a June email to Mr. Grayson, saying his political opponents would “try to make you look like a hypocrite and a fraud and not the populist you claim to be.”

Mr. Grayson rejected the advice, the emails show. “I still think that it would be taken, wrongly, as an admission of guilt,” he wrote back.

Sometimes, Mr. Grayson deployed his aides to work for the fund and his political activity at the same time. Todd Jurkowski, a former spokesman in Mr. Grayson’s House office, was the vice president for investor relations when the fund was started while also serving as treasurer for Mr. Grayson’s campaign in 2012.

[djean111]

4. My problem is, and this is my problem because I live in Florida - his opponent for Rubio's seat

is a DINO, Patrick Murphy.

I don't have to live with Grayson, but I have to live with the results of whatever Grayson or Murphy introduce or vote for, as far as legislation goes. Murphy is a DINO. So I will be voting for Grayson.

[Hortensis]

5. The GOP loves Grayson -- that is,

they thought their candidate could take Rubio's Senate seat easily if Grayson was the Democratic opponent. Unfortunately for the GOP's chances, he's been slowly self-destructing while the DSCC throws what power it can muster to support his opponent, an ex-Republican moderate liberal businessman. Talk about desperate, but we have a real chance to take control of the Senate, and even gain a majority.

Jackie, sadly a politician's positions are worthless to us if he can't win office, and Grayson'd be a severe liability of he were to lose us the Senate. Fact is, he's become so disliked among his colleagues that virtually one's supporting him, even previous friends.

[pinboy3niner]

6. Sen. Harry Reid calls on Alan Grayson to quit Senate race

February 12, 2016

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid on Friday called for U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson of Orlando to drop out of the race for a Senate seat in Florida.

Reid said in a statement that Grayson claims to be progressive but seems to have "no moral compass." He said Grayson used his office to unethically promote a hedge fund that until recently had been based in the Cayman Islands.

...

"His actions aren't just disgraceful to the Democratic Party, they disgrace the halls of Congress," Reid said.

Grayson, in his own statement, said Reid is relying on a "false and misleading hyped story to try to pressure me out of this race."

"I never used my Congressional office to advance any business interest or for personal gain, and to say so is utterly deceitful," he added. "I resent the attack on my `morality,' and I question the morality and judgment of any elected official, much less one in my own party, who would sink so low as to engage in such a smear."

...

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/politics/os-grayson-reid-senate-20160212-story.html

[Baitball Blogger]

8. There are three high profile self-professed Liberals in Central Florida,

and I can say without reservation that if people judged Liberals based on any of those three men, I can see why they hate and distrust us.

[Baitball Blogger]

7. Very common in Florida.

Very big to find Rotary Club members who are also connected to the Chamber. It's like a Chinatown Syndrome. Is he selfless? Is he greedy? Is he selfless? Is he greedy?

Bottom line, they will mitigate whatever good they do by allowing themselves overreaches in their community leadership roles.