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‘Giant Grift’: Calls for Trump Insider Trading Probe Surge Over ‘Corruption’ Questions

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President Donald Trump’s 9:37 AM call for supporters to buy stocks—followed just hours later by his announcement of a so-called “pause” on his market-crushing tariffs—generated billions in new wealth for those positioned to profit. A few of Trump’s billionaire allies were conveniently at the White House celebrating with him as the markets soared, posting single-day gains not seen in decades. To some, the timing of Trump’s statements—and trading activity that some suggest may indicate insider knowledge—has intensified calls to investigate whether the president used his public office to orchestrate a profitable insider scheme. While no definitive proof of market manipulation or insider trading has been published, questions abound.

“Fun fact,” noted Dean Baker, a senior economist at the Center for Economic and Policy Research. “Trump’s backing down on tariffs generated roughly $5 trillion in stock wealth yesterday. If Trump friends got 10% of that through advance knowledge, that’s $500 billion.”

An official White House account posted video of President Trump celebrating—and bragging—with some of his billionaire friends on Wednesday.

RELATED: ‘Pump and Dump’: Market Manipulation Questions Swirl Over Trump Tariff Pause

Adding to the controversy, the former president openly urged his supporters to buy stocks—some even allege he may have tried to promote shares of his own social media company. Heightening concerns further, Trump’s Treasury Secretary later told the press that the tariff “pause” had always been the plan—directly contradicting Trump and multiple senior officials who had previously insisted it was never under consideration.

“This was his strategy all along,” Secretary Scott Bessent said of Trump’s tariff walk back.

“So,” asked attorney and CNN political commentator Bakari Sellers on Wednesday, “who in the Trump administration shorted the market and profited off the pain of the American people?”

U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) shared some thoughts on what he calls Trump’s “brewing” insider trading scandal.

“This entire White House is one giant grift,” declared Senator Murphy, one of the most outspoken Democrats challenging Trump’s policies and actions. “Donald Trump and his friends are in power in order to use their access to government to make money. It stinks, and we should get to the bottom of it.”

Miami Herald award-winning investigative journalist Julie K. Brown observed that the “problem is there is no one to investigate this. DOJ? FBI? SEC? The very agencies that we entrusted with enforcing our laws no longer investigate anything other than what Trump wants them to investigate.”

Others are also asking.

READ MORE: ‘No Plan’: Trump Ripped for ‘Lurching’ Strategy After Surprise Tariff Reversal

Reuters’ White House correspondent Nandita Bose proffered: “Serious question: What are the chances SEC will look into who benefitted from insider info that the pause was about to happen and market manipulation by the admin?”

Attorney Tristan Snell, a former New York State prosecutor who helped lead the investigation and subsequent successful $25 million prosecution of Trump University, says New York Attorney General Letitia James has the authority to investigate and urges her to do so.

“The NY AG has jurisdiction over ANY insider trading that occurs on any NY-based stock exchange,” Snell wrote Thursday morning. “Letitia James should open an IMMEDIATE investigation into whether Trump insiders and Republican members of Congress used advance notice of Trump’s 90-day tariff pause to buy stocks.”

Attorney Richard Painter, the well-known George W. Bush White House chief ethics officer, weighed in.

“If you don’t want to be accused of market manipulation don’t make posts on social media that will make people think you may be involved in market manipulation,” Painter wrote. “Telling people to buy or sell stocks is not illegal. But if you intend to move stock prices and investors trade thinking you have nonpublic information belonging to the government, you could be charged with market manipulation. If you don’t want to be investigated, don’t do it.”

Others, too, are demanding an investigation.

U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, a former professor of law who has spent decades focused on protecting consumers, asks, “Was that market manipulation? Was it corruption in plain sight?”

“We need an independent investigation into market manipulation,” Senator Warren said on Wednesday, from the floor of the U.S. Senate, “because 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 a price.”

CNN anchor and chief White House correspondent Jim Sciutto offered his thoughts on whether Trump’s “great time to buy” message telegraphed his own DJT stock.

“Hours before issuing his stunning reversal of his reciprocal tariffs, Trump urged investors to buy, posting on Truth Social, ‘THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!!’,” Sciutto wrote. “He concluded the post with ‘DJT.’ Although those are the president’s initials, it was also potentially a nod to Trump Media & Technology Group Corp, which trades under the ticker ‘DJT.’ At the time, the parent of Truth Social, DJT shares were down nearly 13% this month. After the announcement, shares were up over 20% for Wednesday alone.”

U.S. Senator Adam Schiff (D-CA) is asking the U.S. Office of Government Ethics and the White House for answers “about whether anyone in the Trump family or administration profited off of this tariff chaos through insider trading.”

Watch the videos above or at this link.

READ MORE: Noem Slammed for Pointing Assault Rifle at Law Enforcement Officer

 

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‘Disgraceful’: ICE Slammed After Allegedly Pepper-Spraying US Congresswoman

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U.S. Rep. Adelita Grijalva (D-AZ) is accusing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents of pepper-spraying her in her face while she was at a local Tucson, Arizona restaurant.

Rep. Grijalva in a video on social media said she saw about 40 mostly-masked ICE agents at a restaurant she frequents weekly.

The agents were “in several vehicles that the community had stopped right here, right in the middle of the street, because they were afraid that they were taking people without due process, without any kind of notice.”

READ MORE: Warning Signs Flash as Trump Slump Raises Fears of 2018 Blue Wave Rerun: Conservative

She said that the community was “protecting their people” when she was “sprayed in the face by a very aggressive agent,” and “pushed around by others when I literally was not being aggressive.”

“I was asking for clarification, which is my right as a member of Congress,” she continued. “So, once I introduced myself, once I did, I assumed that it would be a little calmer, but there was literally only one person that was trying to speak to me in any kind of civil tone, and everyone else was being rude and disrespectful, and I just can only imagine if they’re going to treat me like that, how they’re treating everybody else.”

Congresswoman Grijalva said she saw “people directly sprayed,” including “members of our press” and staff members.

She blasted President Donald Trump, saying that he “has no regard for any due process, the rule of law, the Constitution — they’re literally disappearing people from the streets.”

Critics slammed the agents’ action.

READ MORE: Trump: Democrats Are Plotting ‘Total Obliteration’ of Supreme Court

U.S. Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) wrote that Rep. Grijalva “was doing her job, standing up for her community.”

“Pepper-spraying a sitting member of Congress is disgraceful, unacceptable, and absolutely not what we voted for. Period,” he added.

“This is unacceptable and outrageous,” observed Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes. “Enforcing the rule [of] law does not mean pepper spraying a member of Congress for simply asking questions. Effective law enforcement requires restraint and accountability, not unchecked aggression.”

The Bulwark’s Sam Stein noted, “quite the beginning for Grijalva, who wasn’t seated for weeks, [cast] the decisive vote to get the Epstein files, and now has apparently been pepper sprayed in the face by immigration agents.”

Also calling the action “outrageous,” U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) wrote: “We are Members of Congress with oversight authority of ICE. Rep Grijalva was completely within her rights to stand up for her constituents. ICE is completely lawless.”

“First they tackle a sitting Senator,” noted U.S. Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY). “Now they’re pepper spraying a Representative. It’s clear ICE is spinning out of control. We will hold the agency accountable.”

READ MORE: Trump’s Ballroom Seen as ‘Key Evidence’ He’s Out of Touch as Cost of Living Spikes

 

Image via Reuters 

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Warning Signs Flash as Trump Slump Raises Fears of 2018 Blue Wave Rerun: Conservative

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A well-known conservative commentator has a warning for the Republican Party: take action now or face a repeat of the 2018 midterms when the GOP lost 41 House seats in a landslide. And this time, he says, the Senate could go to the Democrats as well.

Award-winning writer and journalist Bernard Goldberg reminded readers at The Hill that in 2018, during President Donald Trump’s first term, “Republicans got walloped … and a good chunk of that had President Trump’s name written all over it.”

Trump’s “approval ratings were in the low 40s, and independents — the folks who usually decide elections — had seen enough. They broke hard for the Democrats,” Goldberg noted. “Now here we are, staring down 2026, and you can almost hear history clearing its throat, getting ready to repeat itself.”

READ MORE: Trump: Democrats Are Plotting ‘Total Obliteration’ of Supreme Court

Goldberg noted that Trump’s approval rating is currently the lowest it’s been this term.

“Among Republicans, his support dropped from 91 percent right after the 2024 election to 84 percent last month. Among independents, it cratered — from 42 percent to just 25 percent.”

“If the trend continues,” he warned, “Republicans could be headed for another blue wave — and this time, it could wash away not just the House majority, but control of the Senate too.”

Why?

“It’s the economy — still,” he wrote.

“Trump is out there saying the economy is humming. Biden said the same thing before him. But voters didn’t buy it then, and they’re not buying it now. Why? Because it’s not GDP numbers that matter. It’s affordability,” Goldberg noted.

READ MORE: Trump’s Ballroom Seen as ‘Key Evidence’ He’s Out of Touch as Cost of Living Spikes

That’s a word that President Trump continues to call a “con job,” while his own administration tries to claim he is focused on.

He pointed to a Karl Rove Wall Street Journal column and wrote: “The Republicans may have ‘avoided disaster’ in Tennessee, but the result should be a wake-up call for Republicans. He’s right.”

Goldberg asked: “will anyone in the Republican Party actually pick up the phone?”

“Because if Republicans don’t wake up — and fast — they’re going to find out the hard way what happens when you keep rerunning the same movie and expecting a different ending. To lose in 2026, all they have to do is nothing. And right now, that’s pretty much what they’re doing.”

READ MORE: Trump Urges Judge Aileen Cannon to Keep Jack Smith Report Secret

 

 

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Trump: Democrats Are Plotting ‘Total Obliteration’ of Supreme Court

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President Donald Trump is claiming that the top priority of Democrats is the “total obliteration” of the U.S. Supreme Court. His remarks came just hours after SCOTUS gave Republicans a 6-3 win along partisan lines, in the form of approving Texas’s redrawn mid-decade congressional maps that could help add five GOP-held seats to the U.S. House of Representatives. A lower court had ruled the redrawn Texas maps were likely racially biased.

Although there are different ways to measure, one study by Court Accountability this fall found that the Supreme Court has ruled in Trump’s favor 90% of the time.

“Most of these wins for the president came from the court’s ‘shadow docket’ slate of opinions — where the court has typically, in the past, only ruled on administrative measures,” according to Truthout. “However, in recent years, the Supreme Court has been making announcements on cases, issuing injunctions or allowances of actions to remain in place, that have the same effect, essentially, as a final decision.”

READ MORE: White House Touts Trump’s ‘Track Record’ on Affordability

On Friday, the president declared that the “Democrats number one policy push is the complete and total OBLITERATION of our great United States Supreme Court.”

“They will do this on their very first day in office, through the simple Termination of the Filibuster, SHOULD THEY WIN THE UPCOMING ELECTIONS,” he wrote.

Trump has strongly advocated for Republicans to eliminate the Senate filibuster.

“The Radical Left Democrats are looking at 21 Justices, with immediate ascension,” he wrote, claiming that Democrats would more than double the current size of the court.

“This would be terrible for our Country. Fear not, however, Republicans will not let it, or any of their other catastrophic policies, happen. Our Country is now in very good hands. MAGA!!!”

Some court reform advocates have suggested the Supreme Court be expanded to 13 justices, one for each of the thirteen U.S. Courts of Appeals.

READ MORE: Trump’s Ballroom Seen as ‘Key Evidence’ He’s Out of Touch as Cost of Living Spikes

 

Image via Reuters 

 

 

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