According to Axios reporter Zachary Basu, an “epidemic” of suspicious transactions has emerged around President Trump’s most critical decisions.
On Monday, about 16 minutes before Trump announced that he was halting attacks on energy facilities in Iran, $580 million worth of transactions entered the oil futures market.
On the Friday before the war began, more than 150 Polymarket accounts placed hundreds of bets predicting that the United States would attack Iran the next day, according to a New York Times analysis.
TRUMP’S PRESIDENCY IS FULL OF SUSPICIOUS TRANSACTIONS
On January 2, an investor raised nearly $32,000 to more than $400,000 betting that Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro would be captured — a development that was announced the next morning.
Last April, minutes before Trump announced that he was suspending the “Liberation Day” tariffs for 90 days, there was a sudden increase in bullish transactions in the stock market.
Looking at the details: Because these accounts are anonymous, it is unclear whether they are individuals with prior knowledge, organized groups of traders, or independent speculators.
White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement to Axios:
“All federal employees are subject to a code of ethics that prohibits using nonpublic information for financial gain, but implying without evidence that administration officials are involved in such activities is unfounded and irresponsible reporting.”
There is no evidence that Trump was aware of these suspicious transactions or that any official was involved.
More generally, Trump’s presidency coincided with business and investment activities involving his allies, donors, and family members; some of these have historically produced very high returns.
For example, the Trump family’s crypto venture has generated billions of dollars in revenue. Those investing in the venture include a Chinese crypto billionaire who later settled a fraud case with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and a prince from the United Arab Emirates who lobbied for artificial intelligence chips in Washington.
White House legal advisor David Warrington told Axios:
“The president has no role in business dealings that might affect his constitutional responsibilities.”
“President Trump performs his constitutional duties ethically. To claim otherwise is either ignorant or malicious.”
To add to this explanation, there are many reasons to ‘claim otherwise’, as we have listed above.
