Golfer Phil Mickelson is under investigation for possible involvement in insider trading, according to reports in The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. I'm wondering how long it's going to be before folks on the right start telling us that we're hearing the heavy tread of the Obama jackboot --in early 2013, you may recall, Mickelson whined about the tax bill on his earnings of $60 million -- a cry of freedom that was praised by Peggy Noonan ("it was unusual: Most people in his position are clever enough not to sound aggrieved") and was deemed the start of an anti-Obama tax revolt in a FoxNews.com op-ed by Obana conspiracy theorist Wayne Allyn Root. Last year, as Breitbart noted, Mickelson went on CNBC and told Maria Bartiromo that CEOs he golfed with were telling him they weren't hiring because of Obamacare.
Mickelson has had some difficulties with money. Many reports over the years have said that Mickelson has had gambling problems -- here's a good roundup -- and, well, the current story tells us that the insider trading allegedly involves a well-known Vegas gambler:
Federal investigators are pursuing a major insider-trading probe involving finance, gambling and sports, examining the trading of investor Carl Icahn, golfer Phil Mickelson and Las Vegas bettor William "Billy" Walters....So will the right-o-sphere ignore that aspect of Mickelson's life and politicize this? We'll see.
Investigators are examining whether over the past three years Mr. Icahn tipped Mr. Walters -- famous in Las Vegas for his sports-betting acumen -- about potentially market-moving investments by Mr. Icahn's company.
The FBI and SEC are examining whether Mr. Walters on at least one occasion passed a tip on to Mr. Mickelson, these people said, and are studying the two men's trading patterns....
