Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) did not hold back when grilling Joe Biden's Secretary of Energy, Jennifer Granholm, over her history of blatantly illegal stock trading.

Granholm, the former Democratic governor of Michigan, insisted she had merely made a “mistake” in her ownership of various stocks, all while Hawley accused her of "institutional corruption."

Among Hawley's claims included a watchdog report that found that she had violated the Stock Act nine separate times, as well as several breaches of the Hatch Act, which disallows the involvement of public officials in political activities.

Here is a transcript of the testy exchange: 

HAWLEY: When you were here last, I talked with you about the fact that more than 130 officials in the Energy Department reported more than 2,700 trades of shares, bonds, and options, and companies that ethics officers said were directly related to the agency’s work. This is institutionalized corruption and I asked you point blank if you own any individual stock, and you told me no.

It turns out that was false. You owned multiple individual stocks, and you neglected to report them to this committee for months afterwards. Why did you mislead this committee?

GRANHOLM: I believed that I had sold all individual stocks, and I was incorrect, so I came back…

HAWLEY: You just don’t know your portfolio?

GRANHOLM: Um, pretty much.

HAWLEY: It’s a big one I guess, huh?

GRANHOLM: (chuckling nervously) No, it’s extremely small, um…

HAWLEY: Apparently not, for someone manages it for you?

GRANHOLM: So I came back as soon as I found out that, in fact, I had not sold all individuals…

HAWLEY: That’s not true either. Let’s just look at the timeline. You testified you didn’t own any individual stocks, you didn’t sell the stocks for another month, and after you sold the stocks, you waited another month before you informed this committee.

Why did you mislead us, and what were you hiding?

GRANHOLM: I did not hide it because I brought it forth to the committee when I realized that we had made a mistake…

HAWLEY: Really? What explains the delay? Why did you wait for a full month to explain your actions to this committee?

GRANHOLM:(hesitates a bit): Uh, that’s less than a month and I sent a letter explaining what had happened because I owned a Ford stock that was…

HAWLEY: You misled this committee. What were the stocks that you owned?

GRANHOLM: It was a Ford stock that my husband had owned since he was very young, and uh, I was just not aware of it.

HAWLEY: And what were the others? You sold six stocks what were the other five?

GRANHOLM: Uh, I sold, uh, non-conflicting stocks.

HAWLEY: What were they?

GRANHOLM: I don’t, I don’t honestly (pauses briefly). I don’t even know….I do know the Ford one because that was a conflict that’s why I ran…

HAWLEY: You’re here before this committee a year later after actively misleading us after denying and delaying, and now you won’t tell us?

You sat on the board of directors at Protera. You made millions. And then you promoted Protera stock and Protera products as Energy Secretary. Was that one of the stocks that you sold?

GRANHOLM: No! No!

HAWLEY: Really? You are presiding over institutionalized corruption in your energy department. You have violated the Stock Act nine separate times. You have been referred by the Inspector General for violations of the Hatch Act.

It is institutionalized corruption that you are now the face of! I just want to know who really runs the Energy Department. Is it you, or is it the mega-corporations whose stock that you own that you’re making profits?

GRANHOLM: Oh my goodness!

HAWLEY: Or maybe it’s the foreign billionaires who fund your conferences. Do you know the names of the foreign billionaires who fund the conferences you go to since you don’t know the stocks? Would you happen to know the names of the foreign billionaires?

GRANHOLM: I don’t know what you’re talking about!

HAWLEY: You don’t know the stocks, you don’t know the billionaires, you take no responsibility. Meanwhile, executives in your Energy Department are trading stocks in companies that they have direct oversight over.

...

Madam Secretary, all I have to say is this record is just deplorable. It is outrageous that hundreds of officers in the Energy Department are trading shares. It is outrageous that you misled us…This has got to change, and frankly, you should go.

MUST WATCH: Sen. @HawleyMO blasts a flustered Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm over failing to disclose owning conflicting stocks. pic.twitter.com/Md0JVc8LNJ

— Conservative War Machine (@WarMachineRR) April 16, 2024

It is not the first time that Granholm and Hawley have clashed. Last year, she even admitted to having lied under oath when Hawley interrogated her during a previous Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing.