Democrats accuse Trump of insider trading after tariff pause – Washington Examiner
The article reports that Democrats are accusing President Donald Trump of insider trading following his recent decision to pause tariffs,which led to a meaningful surge in the stock market. Trump announced a 90-day delay on tariffs for all countries accept China, a move that contradicted previous claims from his aides that there would be no negotiations. This unexpected declaration prompted a substantial increase in stock indices, raising concerns that Trump may have acted on insider facts when encouraging public investments in the stock market through social media.
Democratic lawmakers, including Senator Adam Schiff, are calling for an investigation into whether members of the Trump administration profited from this market shift through insider trading, questioning who may have been privy to the information prior to the announcement. Various Democratic representatives took to social media to express their concerns, labeling Trump’s actions as potentially manipulative and exploiting market dynamics for personal or political gain.
The article highlights the backdrop of financial instability among Wall street investors and notes how Trump’s decision to pause the tariffs was influenced by fears of economic downturn presented to him by advisors and business leaders. The White House has been approached for comment on thes allegations, amid calls for increased clarity and examination of insider trading practices among lawmakers.
Democrats accuse White House of insider trading after Trump tariff pause sends stock surging
Democrats insist that Congress investigate President Donald Trump‘s administration over its actions just before announcing a 90-day reprieve on his so-called retaliatory tariffs this week.
Trump on Wednesday announced that every country except China would receive a 90-day delay on the tariffs, with a 10% baseline on the countries subject to the pause. This was a reversal from top aides who had claimed there would be no negotiations.
China faced a tariff of 125% from the United States before the White House announced on Thursday that the rate was 145%.
The 90-day pause announcement led to a stock market surge, with the S&P 500 adding 473.13 points, the Dow Jones Industrial Average adding 2,962.86 points, and the Nasdaq Composite adding 1,857.06 points on Wednesday.
Just before the president’s announcement, Trump took to social media to encourage followers to invest in the stock market.
“BE COOL!” Trump admonished the public.
“THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!! DJT,” he also wrote on Truth Social.
But Democrats are now claiming that Trump was allegedly engaging in insider trading with the post.
Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) announced an investigation into whether members of the Trump administration illegally profited from the stock market.
“So the question is, between that tweet and Donald Trump’s announcement that he was reducing the tariffs on most other nations, apart from China,” said Schiff in a video post. “Question is: Who knew what the president was going to do, and did people around the president trade stock knowing the incredible gyration the market was about to go through?”
Schiff and Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) sent a letter requesting an investigation to Susie Wiles, Trump’s chief of staff, and Jamieson Greer, the U.S. trade representative. Greer was caught off guard by Trump’s tariff pause as he testified before a House committee.
“We’re writing to the White House to demand answers,” said Schiff. “Now I am fully cognizant of the fact that the White House is probably the last place to be forthcoming about this or any other corruption in the administration. We in Congress need to do more than demand answers. We need to do the oversight necessary to get those answers.”
Rep. Steven Horsford (D-NV) called Trump’s actions “grifting at its finest. It’s reckless governing and it’s designed to make billionaires richer while the rest of us pay the price.”
“How is this not market manipulation?” said Rep. Mike Levin (D-CA) on social media.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) similarly took to social media to proclaim that “Any member of Congress who purchased stocks in the last 48 hours should probably disclose that now.”
“Disclosure deadline is May 15th. We’re about to learn a few things. It’s time to ban insider trading in Congress,” the New York congresswoman wrote.
Ocasio-Cortez further told reporters on Thursday that the “most obvious and clear next step” would be to vote on banning insider trading on the House floor.
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), a rising resistance leader among Democrats, claimed Trump’s actions “could be an enormous scam” in a video post on Wednesday.
Trump said on Wednesday that he “thought that people were jumping a little bit out of line” as one explanation for why he paused the tariffs.
“They were getting yippy, you know, they were getting a little bit yippy, a little bit afraid,” he said.
He also stated that he had been thinking about the pause “over the last few days.”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Wiles reportedly fielded several worried calls from Wall Street over the weekend. Bessent met with Trump on Sunday in Florida about the rising fears. Trump also spoke with worried GOP senators about the effects of the tariffs on the plummeting stock and bond markets, which helped persuade Trump to back away from the tariffs.
The president could not risk the credible warnings from people such as JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon that the U.S. could face a recession or depression due to his tariffs.
WHITE HOUSE CLARIFIES NEW CHINA TARIFF RATE OF 145%, NOT 125%
The Trump administration was also criticized for its alleged haphazard effort to formulate the tariff rates that allegedly could have been recommended by ChatGPT, adding more pressure for Trump to take an off-ramp to the retaliatory tariffs.
The Washington Examiner contacted the White House for comment about Democratic calls for investigation.
Christian Datoc contributed to this report.
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