Aug 11, 2021 - Health

Rand Paul discloses wife's investment in remdesivir parent company, 16 months later

Rand and Kelley Paul hold hands while out on the campaign trail in 2016.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) (L) and his wife Kelley Paul during a campaign stop for his presidential campaign on January 29, 2016 in Knoxville, Iowa. Photo: Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on Wednesday filed documents showing that his wife invested in Gilead Sciences, which makes antiviral drugs, shortly before COVID-19 was classified a pandemic, per the Washington Post.

Why it matters: Paul, who has repeatedly downplayed the severity of COVID-19, missed the filing deadline for such disclosures by 16 months, saying he did not know about the investment at the time.

Driving the news: Paul filed documents with the Senate on Wednesday showing that his wife, Kelley Paul, had bought stock in Gilead, which manufactures remdesivir, on Feb. 26, 2020.

  • Per the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act, an anti-insider trading law, Paul faced a deadline of 45 days after the time of purchase.
  • A spokesperson for Paul said the senator only recently learned about his wife's stock purchase and filed a supplemental report about it along with his annual disclosure.
  • Kelley Paul lost money on the investment, the spokesperson added, per the Post.

Go deeper: YouTube suspends Rand Paul for one week over mask effectiveness claims

Go deeper