Dem Senator Calls Congress To Launch Insider Trading Investigation Over Trump Tariff Pause

Democratic Senator Adam Schiff has called on Congress to investigate whether President Donald Trump was involved in insider trading or market manipulation after announcing a pause in tariffs for most countries.

"I'm going to do my best to find out" Schiff told Time magazine. "Family meme coins and all the rest of it are not beyond insider trading or enriching themselves. I hope to find out soon," he added.

Schiff is the first member of Congress to call for an investigation, but not the only one who has drawn attention to the matter. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) expanded the scope to members of Congress, suggesting there was insider trading ahead of Trump's announcement on Wednesday and calling for a ban on the practice.

"Any member of Congress who purchased stocks in the last 48 hours should probably disclose that now," AOC said in a publication on X, adding that she has "been hearing some interesting chatter on the floor."

"Disclosure deadline is May 15th. We're about to learn a few things. It's time to ban insider trading in Congress," added the lawmaker as she responded to a publication from an asset manager showing that the "Nasdaq call volume spiked minutes before" Trump's announcement.

Trump said on Wednesday morning that it would be a "great time to buy." Three hours later he added "THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!!". Shortly after he made the tariff announcement, which paused tariffs for non-retaliating countries for 90 days and increased them to 125% for China. Stocks skyrocketed as a result, with the S&P 500 surging almost 10%, one of the largest single-day gains since World War II.

"How is this not market manipulation?" said Democratic Rep. Mike Levin on social media. The possibility was rejected by U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer was testifying before Congress. "We're trying to reset the global trading system," he claimed.

However, he was pressed by Democratic Rep. Steven Horsford. "How have you achieved any of that?" he said. "If it's not market manipulation, what is it? Who's benefiting? What billionaire just got richer?"

The White House has also denied Trump engaged in market manipulation. "It is the responsibility of the president of the United States to reassure the markets and Americans about their economic security in the face of nonstop media fear-mongering," said spokesman Kush Desai.

"Instead of grasping at straws to play partisan political games, Democrats should focus on working with the administration to restore American greatness."

Originally published on Latin Times