Dem v. Trump: request for investigation for insider trading linked to suspension of duties

Dem Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called on all members of Congress who have purchased stocks in the last 48 hours to disclose their transactions alluding to suspicions of market manipulation linked to Donald Trump's announcement on suspending tariffs. 'Any member of Congress who has bought stock in the last 48 hours,' Ocasio-Cortez says, 'should probably disclose it now. I've heard some interesting chatter in the room. The deadline for disclosure is 15 May. We are about to learn a few things. It is time to ban insider trading in Congress'.

Trump "likes this control over the markets, but he better watch out," said Richard Painter, former head of the White House Ethics Office, pointing out that the law prohibits trading on insider information related to securities or helping others to do so. "The people who bought when they saw that post made a lot of money."

Another curiosity in the post was Trump's signature with his initials DJT, the stock symbol of Trump Media and Technology Group, the parent company of the president's social media platform Truth Social. It is unclear whether Trump was talking about buying shares in general or Trump Media in particular. Trump includes 'DJT' in his posts intermittently, usually to emphasise that he personally wrote the message.

However, the ambiguity over the meaning of that signature did not stop people from investing money in that stock. Trump Media closed with +22.67%, doubling the growth of the market as a whole, an extraordinary performance for a company that lost $400 million last year and seems unaffected by the imposition or suspension of tariffs. Trump's 53% stake in the company, now in a trust controlled by his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr. increased by $415 million during the day. "It is the responsibility of the President of the United States to reassure markets and Americans of their economic security in the face of incessant media scaremongering," White House spokesman Kush Desai wrote.

Several investors have used the stock market's volatility in recent weeks as a buying opportunity. Georgia congresswoman, Republican and Trump ally Marjorie Taylor Greene, revealed that she made several purchases on 3 and 4 April - days on which sharp market declines occurred after Trump first outlined his 'Liberation Day' duties on 2 April - including shares of Amazon.com and Apple. Shares of the technology companies rose 12% and 15% respectively on Wednesday.