Utah Senate Republican candidate Trent Staggs said during a debate on Monday that Rep. John Curtis (R-UT) purchased stock in Abbott Laboratories the “same day” the company was awarded a federal grant.
During a debate for the open Utah Senate seat, Staggs criticized Curtis for a past investment in a coronavirus testing company.
“On March 4th of 2020, Abbott Laboratories was awarded a federal grant. On that same day, John Curtis purchased stock in that company. This is the problem in Congress. At a time when somebody should be looking out for their constituents, they end up looking out for their own profit,” Staggs said.
During the debate, Curtis denied any wrongdoing, saying, “You’ve accused me of a felony here tonight. You better have very good evidence, and I’d like to challenge you to produce that evidence.”
KSLT-TV found that on March 27, 2020, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Abbott Laboratories “emergency use authorization” for a rapid coronavirus test.
A House financial investment disclosure form revealed that Curtis purchased stock in Abbott Laboratories the same day that the FDA granted the company the federal grant.
Corey Norman, Curtis’s chief of staff, said that a company had made the congressman’s stock portfolio, not Curtis.
“Look, what I said is that on the same day that a company was granted, or given a grant, that he traded stock in that same day,” Staggs said after the debate.
The Utah congressman said that he longer owns stocks.
Breitbart News has reported recently Curtis released an ad touting his purported pro-law enforcement policies; however, he has touted the pro-Defund the Police Black Lives Matter group.
He wrote in June 2020, “On #Juneteenth we commemorate the official end of slavery and commit to working together to find meaningful solutions to the problems that exist in our society. Every person is deserving of our love and respect—regardless of the color of their skin. Black Lives Matter. #utpol”
Sean Moran is a policy reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.
