Republican Rep. Pete Sessions of Texas argues transparency and accountability are paramount when it comes to federal lawmakers trading stocks.

"If you have nothing to hide, then transparency is your friend," Sessions said in a statement to Insider last month. "I am for Congress deliberating and developing more mechanisms that will uphold integrity and instill confidence in the minds of Americans."

But the 11-term congressman appears to have violated a federal conflicts-of-interest and transparency law by not properly reporting seven of his own stock trades from 2021, according to a personal financial disclosure he filed in February with the US House. The trades together are valued between $7,001 and $105,000, and the most tardy was four months overdue.