‘These Are Real, Legitimate, Justifiable Questions’: Democrats Push Insider Trading Probe
Senators want hearings on potential market manipulation
Prominent Democrats are pushing for a full congressional inquiry over questions whether Donald Trump used his chaotic tariff policies to purposely crash US stock markets to help ultra-wealthy friends make money from market manipulation.
Trump is facing accusations of market manipulation after posting on social media that it was a “great time to buy” just hours before he made a dramatic U-turn on his trade war that led to big rises in stock markets around the world last week.
Shortly after US markets opened on Wednesday morning, Trump posted on social media: “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!! DJT”.
Less than four hours later, he shocked investors by announcing a 90-day pause on additional trade tariffs on most countries except China, sending major stock indexes soaring.
This has sent Democrats wanting to know more, and they drove that point home on the Sunday political talk shows.
“And it's entirely appropriate to have an investigation to make sure that Donald Trump, Donald Trump's family, [and] Donald Trump's inner circle didn't get advance information and trade on that information,” said Sen Elizabeth Warren, of Massachusetts. “This is how the stock market works in order to make sure, on a consistent basis, that nobody's trading on inside information.”
Americans should not have to wonder whether their president or other government officials are making decisions to enrich themselves or their associates, Warren added.
“The American people should never have to wonder, when the president, when his Cabinet, when members of Congress are making a decision, whether it's for the good of the country or for the good of their own bank account,” she said.
These allegations demand congressional hearings, according to Sen Cory Booker, of New Jersey, speaking in a separate interview.
“We are a separate and equal branch of government. The Constitution lays out very clearly that Congress is not supposed to be spineless and submissive. It is supposed to hold oversight over the president,” he said. “These are real, legitimate, justifiable questions. And not to have hearings, not to do any kind of oversight undermines the faith we have in our government, undermines the trust we need in our nation right now.”
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