WH slams Dems' 'partisan games' after Trump-foe Schiff calls for insider trading investigation over tariffs
The White House slammed Democrats for playing "partisan games" and calling for an investigation into alleged insider trading after President Donald Trump paused customized reciprocal tariffs for 90 days on Wednesday.
"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," White House spokesman Kush Desai said in comment to Fox Digital when asked about Democrats claiming Trump manipulated the market.
Sens. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., wrote a letter on Thursday to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, as well as Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, calling for an investigation into potential insider trading.
"This sequence of events raises grave legal and ethics concerns. The President, his family, and his advisors are uniquely positioned to be privy to and take advantage of non-public information to inform their investment decisions," the senators wrote.
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Trump, ahead of pausing the reciprocal tariffs, posted to Truth Social, "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." The president had previously said he would not pause tariffs but was open to negotiating with other nations.
Trump paused only the higher, customized tariffs he placed on nations that historically installed trade barriers on U.S. goods, with nations across the world instead facing a lower 10% tariff on goods, as the Trump administration and world leaders hash out negotiations for the reciprocal tariffs.
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China, however, was not part of the tariff pause and was instead hit with a higher 125% tariff after retaliating with its own additional tariffs against the U.S.
"I’m going to do my best to find out," Schiff, who has long been a Trump foe, told Time of investigating the president for alleged insider trading. "Family meme coins and all the rest of it are not beyond insider trading or enriching themselves. I hope to find out soon."
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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the customized tariffs were paused due to Trump wanting to be "personally involved" in negotiations as dozens of nations contacted the White House to strike deals.
"We've had more than 75 countries contact us. And I imagine after today, there will be more. So it is just a processing problem. Each one of these solutions is going to be bespoke. It is going to take some time. And President Trump wants to be personally involved. So, that's why we're getting the 90-day pause," Bessent said during a gaggle with the media outside the White House on Wednesday afternoon.
Trump added on Wednesday that he was watching the volatile bond market, calling it "tricky" and making people a "little queasy," but denied it persuaded him to change course on customized tariffs.
"I thought that people were jumping a little bit out of line. They were getting yippy. You know, they we're getting a little bit yippy, a little bit afraid, unlike these champions, because we have a big job to do. No other president would have done what I did. … I know the presidents, they wouldn't have done it, and it had to be done," Trump added in his remarks.