Democrat firebrand Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has raised suggestions of insider trading after President Donald Trump posted a stock market tip just hours before reversing course on tariffs.
Markets skyrocketed following the president’s announcement pausing some of his global tariffs for 90 days on Wednesday.
Earlier that day he had posted on Truth Social that it would be a ‘good time to buy.’
Those who purchased stocks in the hours between his post and the tariff U-turn made a lot of money.
Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez used her platform on X to give voice to what many on social media were also saying.
‘Any member of Congress who purchased stocks in the last 48 hours should probably disclose that now,’ the progressive Democrat posted.
‘I’ve been hearing some interesting chatter on the floor. Disclosure deadline is May 15th,’ she continued.
‘We’re about to learn a few things. It’s time to ban insider trading in Congress,’ she wrote.
Members of Congress have 45 days to disclose stock trades, meaning May 15 will be the deadline for any trades around the time of the tariff announcement.
The congresswoman’s social media feed included another post which showed a chart indicating how the volume of trading spiked dramatically just minutes before Trump’s announcement that he was delaying the tariffs.
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called for lawmakers to disclose their stock purchases after the markets soared following President Trump’s tariff U-turn amid questions over insider trading
The stock market had plunged roughly 12 percent since Trump announced his widespread tariffs on all countries on April 2. Trillions of dollars in value was wiped out.
Trump administration officials insisted ahead of the tariffs going into effect on Tuesday that the president was not considering a delay.
But on Wednesday morning as the markets continued to slide, Trump posted on Truth Social ‘THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!! DJT.’
After the pause announcement was made, stocks soared 9.5 percent.
When asked Wednesday afternoon what led to his decision to pause the tariffs, Trump first indicated it was the markets when he said people were getting out of line.
He said: ‘They were getting a little bit yippy, a little bit afraid.’
Sitting in the Oval Office later on Wednesday, the president revealed more details on his U-turn decision timeline.
‘I would say this morning, over the last few days, I’ve been thinking about it,’ he said.
AOC posted on X raising questions about insider trading after Trump’s U-turn on tariffs
Trump’s post on Wednesday morning just hours before he announced the tariff pause is raising questions
Ocasio-Cortez, 35, is not the only person to bring up insider trading after the president’s tariff reversal and stock market buying frenzy.
Democratic Congressman Steven Horsford (D-Nev.) grilled Trump’s trade representative at a hearing on Capitol Hill on Wednesday where he brought up the pause right after it happened and blasted the administration.
‘Is this market manipulation?’ Horsford asked Jamieson Greer, who responded ‘no.’
‘If it was a plan, if this was always a plan, how is this not market manipulation?’ the Nevada congressman yelled.
Greer pushed back that is was not market manipulation, and they are trying to ‘reset the global trade system.’
‘Who’s benefiting? What billionaire just got richer?’ Horsford raged.
The questions were also brought up by Democratic Senator Chris Murphy who posted ‘an insider trading scandal is brewing.’
The Connecticut lawmaker questioned in video posted on X about who made money from the president’s announcement.
‘This could be an enormous scam,’ Murphy said.
‘The question is, who close to Trump knew that he was going to suspend the tariffs? Which of his Mar-a-Lago friends or his billionaire advisers were able to capitalize on that inside information?’ he asked.
‘Why did Trump send out that post to his supporters earlier in the day?’ the Democratic senator continued.