Reader Robert S. sends me a link to the Cleveland Plain Dealer this morning, where they’ve parsed the trading records of the US House Financial Services Committee to find out that yes… these guys have been trading bank stocks at the same time they’re voting on bailouts. Some examples:

Anticipating bargains or profits or just trying to unload before the bottom fell out, these members of the House Financial Services Committee or brokers on their behalf were buying and selling stocks including Bank of America and Citigroup — some of the very corporations their committee would later rap for greed, a Plain Dealer examination of congressional stock market transactions shows.

For example, Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite, a Florida Republican, bought Citigroup stock valued between $1,001 and $15,000 on Oct. 2, the day before the House passed the financial rescue bill and President George W. Bush signed it into law, records show. She opposed the bill.

The stockbroker husband of West Virginia’s Shelley Moore Capito, a Republican, sold more than $100,000 in Citigroup stock in several transactions late last year. His brokerage firm was owned by Citigroup and his compensation included Citigroup stock. A Capito spokesman said the House Ethics Committee gave her verbal approval to join the committee despite her husband’s job.

Most attributed the trades to brokers or spouses, and all denied any conflict of interest. (And, these weren’t necessarily cash cows – Rep. Brown-Waite couldn’t have actually done very well on the trade she made. The members who dumped bank stocks assuredly did much better.) But, come on. If you’re on the Financial Services Committee – find another sector to trade in. It’s not like C and BAC are the only stocks out there. If they were, we’d all be hiding cash under our mattresses.