New York Attorney General Leticia James’ office is scrutinizing whether insider trading took place in connection with President Trump’s 90-day suspension on customized “mutual” tariffs announced last week.
The test is in preliminary stages and is not yet a full-scale probe, James’ office confirmed with the Post on Tuesday.
It was not immediately clear whether a particular individual or company would be eligible for review. First reported by CNN.
Just before the US market opened on April 9th, Trump, who freely dropped his index over tariff uncertainty, declared true socially that it was the “best time to buy.”
That afternoon, the president announced the postponement of customized fees while maintaining a 10% baseline obligation for most imports.
The stock market rebounded sharply, with Dow Jones Industrial Arage surged 7.9%, S&P 500 surged 9.5%, and Nasdaq surged 12.2%.
One exception to the suspension was China, where Trump announced a 125% obligation, bringing the total rate of most goods and services to up to 145%. The government also temporarily eased tariff rates on electronic imports from China, awaiting a supply chain review.
Liberals such as Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) suggest that White House allies may be trading prior knowledge of tariff suspensions to kill in the market.
“It is perfectly appropriate to do a survey to ensure that the insider of Donald Trump, the family of Donald Trump, did not get any prior information and deals on that information,” Warren told CNN.
An elected Democrat, James has broad authority to investigate potential securities fraud under the Martin Act of 1921.
New York AG has repeatedly clashed with Trump in the past.
In late 2023, she filed a bold business fraud civil complaint against the Trump organization, accusing the company of inappropriately inflated its asset valuation to win better business transactions and devaluing it for tax purposes.
Last February, a New York judge ordered Trump to pay $354.8 million plus interest on the penalty.
An appeal for that verdict is ongoing.
Trump accused James of racism, adopted a “witch hunt” against him, and had political animus in her business fraud lawsuit.
