New York Attorney General Letitia James is initiating a preliminary inquiry into whether recent actions surrounding President Donald Trump’s tariff policies may have involved insider trading, according to sources confirming with Fox News Digital.
The investigation centers on the possibility that Trump or individuals associated with him possessed prior knowledge of a decision to pause reciprocal tariffs—tariffs imposed on nations that erect trade barriers against U.S. goods – before the public announcement, potentially leading to market gains.
On April 9th, Trump implemented these customized tariffs. Shortly thereafter, he announced a surprise 90-day suspension of these retaliatory measures, triggering a significant surge in U.S. markets:
- Dow Jones Industrial Average: Increased by 7.9%
- S&P 500: Rose by 9.5%
- Nasdaq Composite: Jumped 12.2%
Trump himself alluded to the situation on Truth Social, stating, “BE COOL! Everything is going to work out well. The USA will be bigger and better than ever before!” and “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!! DJT.”
While the tariff pause impacted many nations, China was notably excluded and actually faced a higher 125% tariff following its own retaliatory measures.
Concerns about potential insider trading have been raised by several lawmakers. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) urged the Securities and Exchange Commission to launch an investigation, stating: “It’s entirely appropriate to have an investigation to make sure that Donald Trump, Donald Trump’s family, Donald Trump’s inner circle, didn’t get advance information and trade on that information.”
Sens. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) further formalized these concerns by writing a letter to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, requesting an investigation into potential insider trading.
The White House swiftly responded, dismissing the allegations as “partisan games.” White House spokesman Kush Desai stated, “It is the responsibility of the President of the United States to reassure the markets and Americans about their economic security in the face of nonstop media fearmongering. Democrats railed against China’s cheating for decades, and now they’re playing partisan games instead of celebrating President Trump’s decisive action yesterday to finally corner China.”
Letitia James has a history of challenging Trump. She launched her campaign for New York Attorney General in 2018 with the promise of aggressively pursuing legal actions against him, and since then, her office has reportedly initiated nearly 100 legal challenges against Trump.
Following his recent election victory, James reaffirmed her commitment to continue these efforts, stating: “We did not expect this result, but we are prepared to respond to this result. And my office has been preparing for several months because we’ve been here before. We faced this challenge before, and we used the rule of law to fight back. And we are prepared to fight back once again because, as the attorney general of this great state, it is my job to protect and defend the rights of New Yorkers and the rule of law. And I will not shrink from that responsibility.”
The investigation is being conducted under the authority granted by the 1921 Martin Act, which provides the New York Attorney General’s office with broad powers to investigate securities fraud. This includes the ability to subpoena witnesses, demand documents, and pursue both civil and criminal charges without requiring proof of intent to defraud.
