title:  A Hedge Fund Exploiting Death And Destruction Could Spell Big Trouble For A US Congressman
text: Progressive hero Alan Grayson is best known as the member of congress who has introduced more legislation than any other. He s remembered for his statements on the GOP s lack of a plan for health insurance, stating  their plan is, if you get sick, you die.  He s also well-known for comparing the Tea Party to the KKK.From the outside, Grayson is a true American success story. Born in the Bronx, Grayson managed to make his way through Harvard Law, becoming a multi-millionaire as a trial lawyer. On the inside, however, some serious questions have arisen.A House Ethics Committee investigation is underway looking into a trio of hedge funds operated by Grayson that may have broken several rules for second-source income, use of congressional staffers for private enterprise and misuse of government travel expenses. Two of the hedge funds, that have since been closed, were located in the Cayman Islands, and one in the US.As a United States Congressman, Grayson is forbidden from earning more than $27,500 from a second source. While he states he had no taxable income from the funds during his time as a congressman, which include terms from 2009-2011 and 2013 to present. Grayson started the funds in 2012 while not serving, but kept them open when he won reelection for 2013. The question of his income comes because he was still listed as a manager of the fund, which typically comes with a price tag.Emails from Grayson s staff, as well as income disclosures, show that at least one of his staffers appeared to be employed by the fund and the congressman at the same time. Though the earnings were as light as $1K per month, there are still clear ethics violations that have to be investigated.Evidence also shows that Grayson has used taxpayer funds to manage the fund from abroad and possibly to solicit new investors to the fund, a charge he vehemently denies. While on a trip to Tampa to present a proposal for increases to social security in August 2015, Grayson reportedly scuttled his agenda to manage the hedge fund as markets bottomed out across the globe because of turmoil in China.What this all spells is big trouble for Alan Grayson. He s convinced that the DNC is working against him in a bid to see another Democrat elected to the senate seat being vacated by Marco Rubio. Unfortunately, the most disturbing news about Grayson and his hedge fund comes from his own brochures and admissions, where he asserts that the philosophy of the fund is to invest in low-cost markets where political turmoil, civil unrest, war, famine and  blood in the streets  offers unique opportunities when the area rebuilds.His funds have all but failed, and his investors have all been paid back what they have lost, making him quite possibly the most decent of congressional rule-breakers, but a rule breaker nonetheless.