Armed Services Committee Members Bought Oil & Defense Stocks Weeks Before Iran Conflict

Two members of Congress with Armed Services committee access filed energy and defense stock purchases that are now up 12–37%. All data sourced from mandatory public STOCK Act disclosures.

Best Return (COP)
+37.3%
Mullin · since Dec 29
Mullin Basket Avg
+28.5%
COP + CVX + RTX
Best Return (OXY)
+33.5%
Cisneros · since Feb 10
Energy Stocks Bought
8
Across 2 members, 2 dates
STOCK Act Penalty
$200
For non-disclosure violation
M
Markwayne Mullin
R Senator · Oklahoma · 3 trades · Dec 29, 2025
State, Foreign Operations & Related Programs
Senate Appropriations subcommittee — controls Iran sanctions budget
Senate Committee on Armed Services
Member
Emerging Threats & Capabilities
Armed Services subcommittee · member
Seapower
Armed Services subcommittee · member
COP ConocoPhillips $15K–$50K +37.3%
CVX Chevron $15K–$50K +35.9%
RTX Raytheon Technologies $15K–$50K +12.4%
Returns calculated from trade date to March 23, 2026
C
Gilbert Ray Cisneros
D Rep. · California · 5 trades · Feb 10, 2026
Intelligence & Special Operations
Armed Services subcommittee — classified oversight of overseas ops
House Committee on Armed Services
Member
Contracting & Infrastructure
Armed Services subcommittee · ranking member
Military Personnel
Armed Services subcommittee · member
OXY Occidental Petroleum $1K–$15K +33.5%
EOG EOG Resources $15K–$50K +23.9%
COP ConocoPhillips $1K–$15K +18.3%
CVX Chevron $15K–$50K +12.6%
XOM ExxonMobil $50K–$100K
Returns calculated from trade date to March 23, 2026

Why This Matters — The Structural Problem

STOCK Act Penalty
$200
The fine for failing to disclose a trade under the STOCK Act. No member of Congress has ever been criminally prosecuted under the law.
Avg. Disclosure Gap
49 days
Average time between when a Congress member executes a trade and when the public sees it. The legal limit is 45 days. You're reading history, not intelligence.
Public Support for Ban
86%
Americans who support banning congressional stock trading. The ETHICS Act has been reintroduced multiple times. It has not passed.

Under the STOCK Act, members of Congress are required to disclose stock trades within 45 days of execution. The law passed in 2012. It requires disclosure. It does not ban trading.

What makes these specific trades notable is the overlap between committee access and sector exposure. Sen. Mullin sits on the Senate Appropriations subcommittee that controls US foreign policy funding — including Iran sanctions. He also sits on Armed Services' Emerging Threats & Capabilities and Seapower subcommittees. On December 29, 2025, he filed purchases of two oil majors and a defense contractor.

Whether or not any classified information influenced these trades, the structural condition for that influence exists. That's not a conspiracy. That's an architecture problem.

Rep. Cisneros is a member of the Intelligence & Special Operations subcommittee, which holds oversight over Special Operations Command and receives classified briefings on overseas threat posture. On February 10, 2026, he filed purchases of five separate energy companies — all in a single day. The position in OXY has since returned +33.5%. His four other energy positions are all positive.

Both trades were made by members of both parties. The pattern of committee members trading in sectors they directly oversee is documented across all 538 members in our database. Congressional leaders historically outperform backbenchers by up to 47% per year. That gap doesn't come from superior stock-picking instincts.

Track every congressional trade in real time

188,753 trades across 540 politicians, mapped to committee assignments, bills, and sector momentum.

View All Trades →
Disclaimer: All trade data sourced from mandatory public STOCK Act disclosures via house.gov and senate.gov. Performance figures are calculated using public market data from the trade execution date to March 23, 2026. This page presents factual public record data and does not constitute financial advice, legal opinion, or allegations of illegal conduct. Past performance of any individual's trades does not predict future results.