United States Senator Markwayne Mullin has disclosed a new stock purchase in financial services firm Capital One (NYSE: COF), just days after the entity received the green light for its acquisition of Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS).
According to a financial disclosure filed on April 13, 2025, Senator Mullin bought between $15,001 and $50,000 worth of Capital One stock on March 19, 2025.
The transaction, made jointly with another party, occurred when the equity traded at $172. Since then, COF has recorded a minor drop of over 4%. At press time, Capital One’s share price was valued at $164, up over 1.5% on the day.
Proximity of Mullin’s trade to DOJ greenlight
Just weeks after the senate trade, on April 3, the DOJ reportedly informed federal regulators that it found no competition issues significant enough to block Capital One’s $35 billion acquisition of Discover Financial Services.
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In this case, the DOJ sent a letter to the Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), concluding its antitrust investigation and signaling it would not oppose the merger.
Initially unveiled in February 2024, the merger would create a financial giant: the largest U.S. credit card issuer by balances, the sixth-largest bank by assets, and the only major bank to own its credit card payment network.
Senator Mullin’s suspicious trades
While it’s unclear if Senator Mullin had any non-public information at the time of the trade, the proximity of his purchase to the DOJ’s decision will likely raise questions over potential conflicts of interest and insider advantage in Congress.
Such concerns may accelerate considering the lawmaker has, in the past, been at the center of several suspicious trades, at one point recording over 200% returns on his Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ: SFM) bet.
As reported by Finbold, the politician’s purchase of Badger Meter stock also raised eyebrows after the company’s shares surged.
The timing was notable due to Tulsa, Oklahoma’s $94 million water meter upgrade—especially since Mullin represents the state.
Featured image via Shutterstock
