‘Who knew what President was going to do?’ Democrat senator Adam Schiff alleges insider trading after Trump’s sudden tariff pause

Adam Schiff raises insider trading concerns after Trump’s tariff pause

Following a turbulent day on Wall Street sparked by President Trump’s sudden 90-day tariff pause on most countries—with the exception of China—Democratic Senator Adam Schiff has raised concerns about insider trading within the Trump administration.
In a pointed statement on Capitol Hill, Schiff criticized what he described as an erratic and dangerous trade policy. “This on again, off again, it must be Wednesday, tariffs are off again kind of policy… has just wreaked havoc on the markets,” he said.

But the damage to the markets, Schiff alleged, might only be the surface of a deeper scandal. Referencing a social media earlier in the day from President Trump saying “this is a good time to buy,” Schiff questioned who may have known in advance about the administration’s plans to lift tariffs—a move that sent markets soaring after a period of uncertainty. “The question is between that tweet and Donald Trump‘s announcement that he was reducing the tariffs on most other nations apart from China,” Schiff said, “the question is, who knew what the President was going to do? And did people around the President trade stock, knowing the incredible gyration the market was about to go through?”
Schiff further expressed concern over potential financial self-dealing, pointing to Trump’s known involvement in meme cryptocurrency ventures and alleged participation by his children. “This is a President who is trading in his own meme coin even as he’s president. His kids are trading in their own cryptocurrency,” Schiff said. “You’ve got people like Elon Musk who are doing their own conflicted self dealing in the administration.”
Schiff, who has long been a vocal critic of Trump, announced plans to formally write to the White House demanding transparency and accountability on whether any administration officials used non-public information to profit in the stock market. “In any administration this corrupt, it is more than necessary to ask, were people personally profiting from insider information while people’s savings, their retirement accounts were being torched? So we’re writing to the White House to demand answers,” he said in his video statement adding that he’s “fully cognizant of the fact that the White House is probably the last place to be forthcoming about this or any other corruption in the administration.”
Further calling for action Schiff said, “We in Congress need to do more than demand answers. We need to do the oversight necessary to get those answers.” Also lamenting the lack of Republican will to investigate, he alleged, “To date, Republicans have not been willing to do this. Not when it comes to insider trading potentiality, not when it comes to anything.”
He then called on whistleblowers to come forward, citing past hearings involving Justice Department officials who resigned or were fired after raising concerns about corruption. “We have tremendously benefited from courageous people coming forward,” Schiff said. “But at the end of the day, we’re going to get to the bottom of this. Whether people were profiting off the pain of the American people.”
The White House has not yet responded to Schiff’s remarks or the allegations of insider trading. However, the controversy is expected to intensify as Democrats press for more aggressive oversight into financial conduct within the administration.