Amidst the tariff – and tariff pause – turmoil of early April, a Congressional storm has been brewing. House Democrats have been heavily implying that many of their colleagues have used the stock market bloodbath to place suspiciously well-timed trades.
On April 10, a coalition of six Representatives sent a letter to Speaker Mike Johnson, urging all politicians to be required to disclose their equity buys and sales from the period immediately.
Furthermore, on April 9, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, one of the letter’s signatories, made an X post claiming that the disclosures will likely enable the public to ‘learn a few things’ while urging a Congressional trading ban be urgently implemented.
Simultaneously, Finbold’s Congressional trading radar picked up multiple curious filings. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene – otherwise known as a lackluster trader by politician standards – stood out for her suspicious and lucrative investments in companies like Dollar General (NYSE: DG) and RH stock (NYSE: RH).
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Stay up-to-date on the trading activity of US Congress members. The signal triggers based on updates from the House disclosure reports, notifying you of their latest stock transactions.
Could Members of Congress go to prison for insider trading?
Though the overall setup strongly implies that elected officials enjoyed trading with extensive use of insider information, it is unlikely any of them will face the music.
The COVID-19 pandemic featured its own Senatorial insider trading scandal, with multiple politicians dumping shares following a closed-doors meeting ahead of the lockdown announcement, but all were eventually blameless for any wrongdoing,
Receive Signals on US Senators' Stock Trades
Stay up-to-date on the trading activity of US Senators. The signal triggers based on updates from the Senate disclosure reports, notifying you of their latest stock transactions.
Furthermore, members of Congress are notorious for evading any meaningful penalty even when caught in clear violation of the rules.
A prominent example of the trend can be seen with the $200 fines – frequently waived fines – levied even on severe violations of the STOCK Act, such as breaching the filing deadline following stock market trades.
Did Trump accidentally admit tariff insider trading?
Elsewhere, should members face consequences over their tariff turmoil investments, President Donald Trump could face another controversy. Specifically, he urged his followers to invest in the stock market hours before the 90-day tariff pause was officially unveiled.
Traders who lent credence to the Truth Social post would have enjoyed significant and near-immediate gains, while the biggest winners would have been those who chose to purchase Trump Media (NASDAQ: DJT) stock, as Finbold reported on April 10.
Lastly, it is worth pointing out that the Congressional trading filings may reveal nothing suspicious. President Trump’s decision to pause the tariff implementation is alleged to have emerged from the bond turmoil that arose between April 8 and 9, meaning that buying on insider information ahead of that time was effectively impossible.
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This signal is triggered upon the reporting of the trade to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Still, even under those circumstances, there are grounds for suspicion that some market actors were forewarned as a sharp and short-lived stock market rally was recorded minutes ahead of the official pause and bullish reversal that followed it.
Featured image via Shutterstock
