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12 Va. J. Crim. L. 1 (2026)

handle is hein.journals/virjcr12 and id is 1 raw text is: 2026 VIRGINIA JOURNAL OF CRIMINAL LAW 1 BREAKING THROUGH THE SPEECH OR DEBATE CLAUSE SHIELD: HOLDING LAWMAKERS ACCOUNTABLE FOR INSIDER TRADING Lia R. Newman* ABSTRACT. Congress trades on secrets. Then it hides behind shields it built for itself Thirteen years after passing the STOCK Act, lawmakers continue to buy and sell stocks in sectors they oversee-often within days of closed-door briefings or pivotal legislative actions. Yet no successful prosecution has followed. While the Speech or Debate Clause-whichMembers ofCongress improperly hide behind offers one layer ofprotection for Members of Congress, it is not the sole barrier to accountability. More fundamentally, Congress has created an oversight system that is inherently flawed: the STOCK Act relies on an ethics framework that is self-written, self-investigated, and self- underenforced. To pierce this shield, I propose a two-part enforcement model: (1) a conflict-of-interest-based presumption that attaches when lawmakers trade around sensitive legislative activity without recusal or blackout participation, and (2) an evidentiary strategy that builds insider trading cases using circumstantial indicators, avoiding any reliance on protected legislative acts. J.D., University of Virginia School of Law, 2026.