Sign up for the Today newsletter
Get everything you need to know to start your day, delivered right to your inbox every morning.
Warren asks SEC to investigate possible ‘market manipulation’ after tariff reversal
Multiple prominent Democrats said that Trump's allies could have profited greatly from President Trump's fluctuating tariff policies.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren and a host of other congressional Democrats are calling for an investigation into whether President Donald Trump participated in insider trading this week, as he reversed course on a rash of aggressive tariffs.
Last week Trump announced that his administration would be imposing reciprocal tariffs on dozens of countries, sending global markets into chaos and leaving foreign officials scrambling to make deals with the White House.
On Wednesday morning Trump posted on social media, urging followers to “BE COOL!” and that “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!!”
Later that day, though, Trump announced a 90-day pause on most of the announced tariffs, causing markets to rapidly rebound.
Advertisement:
That raised some red flags for many of the president’s opponents. Warren, on the Senate floor Wednesday evening, said that officials need to conduct an investigation into possible market manipulation.
“Americans need to know whether President Trump or anyone in his administration manipulated the market to benefit their donors all while they are working for the American people and while small businesses and those working families are paying the price,” she said. “It’s a disaster.”
She followed that up by teaming with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and other colleagues to ask the Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate. In a letter sent to SEC Commissioner Paul Atkins Friday, they said that the idea of Trump and his allies profiting off market instability while Americans suffer financial hardship is “unconscionable.”
Advertisement:
“At this critical moment, the SEC must do its part to restore Americans’ faith in the rule of law and to preserve the integrity of the financial system, in accordance with its statutory mission,” they wrote.
Warren also called on her Republican colleagues to help pass a bipartisan resolution she introduced to “turn off the fake emergency authority that Donald Trump is using to impose his worldwide and chaotic tariffs.”
That resolution, introduced earlier this week before Trump’s reversal, would terminate the “national emergency” Trump declared when announcing the tariffs last week.
Other Democrats also chimed in on Wednesday evening. Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut said on social media that the whole situation could be an “enormous scam” and that an investigation is warranted.
“This entire White House is one giant grift,” he said.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York was stopped by reporters as she exited the Capitol. She was asked if Trump knew what he was doing in terms of potentially manipulating the markets.
“I don’t think that it was a coincidence,” she said. “I’ve heard murmurings on the floor that there may have been people that knew that this was coming, and I’m very interested in seeing some of the stock disclosures that come out.”
Advertisement:
Then on Thursday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said that House Democrats would launch an official investigation into “possible stock manipulation.” Jeffries said he specifically wants to find out whether any GOP lawmakers in the House had advanced knowledge of Trump’s tariff freeze.
Sen. Adam Schiff of California and Sen. Ruben Gallego Arizona sent a letter to the U.S. Office of Government Ethics and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles Thursday formally requesting an “urgent inquiry” into whether Trump or anyone close to him knew of impending changes to the country’s tariff policy and engaged in illegal financial transactions using that information.
Schiff and Gallego said that this inquiry should be conducted by the OGE, which is an independent agency within the executive branch tasked with investigating and preventing conflicts of interest. In February, Trump removed that agency’s director.
“This sequence of events raises grave legal and ethics concerns,” the senators wrote. “The President, his family, and his advisors are uniquely positioned to be privy to and take advantage of non-public information to inform their investment decisions.”
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com