FBI Director Kash Patel bought as much as $250,000 in Strategy stock last November and waited six months to tell federal ethics regulators about it, a NOTUS analysis details.
Key Takeaways:
Patel bought up to $250K in Strategy stock Nov. 21, 2025, disclosed it May 26, 2026.POGO’s Dylan Hedtler-Gaudette says the six-month delay violates the STOCK Act’s 45-day rule.DOJ’s William Taylor II cleared Patel of conflict of interest on May 28, 2026, no fine issued.The Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act gives senior executive branch officials 45 days to publicly report any stock trade over $1,000. Patel’s disclosure landed roughly six months past that window.
Dylan Hedtler-Gaudette, acting vice president at the Project on Government Oversight, did not soften his assessment. He called the delay a clear breach of federal law, saying there’s no other way to describe it.
Two days after Patel’s letter to OGE, Deputy Assistant Attorney General William N. Taylor II sent his own letter stating the purchase did not create a conflict of interest with Patel’s FBI duties. The FBI told NOTUS the mistake was caught, the paperwork was amended, and a DOJ ethics official approved the correction. No STOCK Act fine has been issued.
Why the Timing Raises EyebrowsStrategy has held federal contracts with the Justice Department for software licensing and maintenance, according to records on USAspending.gov. That relationship puts a DOJ contractor’s stock in the personal portfolio of the agency’s own FBI director.
By the time the July 1 report surfaced, Strategy stock had lost roughly half its value since Patel made the purchase.
Not Patel’s First Late DisclosurePatel has traded individual stocks throughout his tenure as FBI director. He bought Krispy Kreme shares in May 2025, around the time the FBI was investigating a ransomware breach at the donut chain, Dave Levinthal, an editor at NOTUS, reported. He also picked up ON Semiconductor shares that same month, while selling large positions in Nvidia and Palantir as part of his ethics divestiture agreement.
What Happens NextNo fine or additional enforcement action has followed as of early July. But the episode is fueling renewed calls from watchdog groups and some lawmakers for tighter restrictions, or an outright ban, on individual stock trading by senior federal officials.
