GOP Sen. Hawley fumes after energy secretary admits false testimony on stock ownership

Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley is livid after Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm admitted to incorrectly stating during a congressional hearing that she owned no stocks and has demanded that she account for the delay in notifying the committee.

Granholm on Friday informed the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee that she had "mistakenly told the Committee that I did not own any individual stocks, whereas I should have said that I did not own any conflicting stocks."

At the time of Granholm's April 20 testimony, she owned shares in six companies, which government ethics officials had determined did not conflict with her official duties. She divested from those stocks on May 18. Hawley, on Tuesday, wrote to Granholm demanding she account for the roughly seven-week delay in notifying the committee.

"Three times you told me, and this committee, that you did not own individual stocks... But we now know that was false. Last Friday, you informed the committee that you did own stocks at the time of your testimony on April 20, 2023. In fact, you still held stocks in six companies," he wrote to Granholm in a letter that Fox News obtained. "You then divested from these holdings on May 18, 2023... But you chose not to notify the committee until last Friday—over seven weeks after the hearing and at least three weeks after you sold these stocks. So I want to know: why?"

Hawley set a June 20 deadline for Granholm's reply.

Just the News has sought comment from the Department of Energy.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on Twitter.