Senator Adam Schiff is calling on Congress to launch an investigation into whether former President Donald Trump engaged in insider trading or attempted to manipulate financial markets. This follows a sudden policy announcement that significantly boosted stock prices.
In an interview with TIME on Wednesday, the California Democrat revealed plans to scrutinize Trump’s unexpected decision to suspend a broad set of tariffs. That announcement triggered an immediate surge in financial markets, with the S&P 500 climbing more than 9% by the end of the trading day. Schiff’s statement marks the first public demand by a sitting U.S. Senator for a formal investigation into whether Trump—or individuals connected to him—may have benefited financially from the decision.
“I’m going to do my best to find out,” Schiff stated, noting that the Trump family’s financial activities are “not beyond insider trading or self-enrichment.”
Adam Schiff says he is “writing to the White House” to see if anyone is involved in insider trading: “You can’t put it past them for a minute. We’re going to try to find out. We’re going to demand answers.” pic.twitter.com/rUt4vAfS0I
— TheBlaze (@theblaze) April 9, 2025
Adding to the controversy, Trump posted on Truth Social just before markets opened on Wednesday: “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!!” The timing of the post has sparked widespread speculation from leftwing conspiracists that Trump may have attempted to influence the markets for personal gain.
During his first term, the president had issued a similar announcement during a period in which the stock market sank. Schiff, for some reason, didn’t have a problem with it then.
Markets reacted swiftly to Trump’s tariff pause. Stocks soared, bond markets rallied, and oil prices reversed earlier losses. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent defended the policy shift as a strategic pause meant to facilitate targeted negotiations with foreign partners, although he acknowledged prior discussions with Trump regarding the change.
Schiff, a prominent Trump critic, previously led the House’s first impeachment proceedings against the former president and played a central role in investigating Trump’s foreign entanglements and alleged ties to Russia. His current call for a financial misconduct inquiry extends his ongoing efforts to hold Trump accountable.
The California senator, however, has not been without his own controversy. In 2023, an investigation revealed that Schiff had become so obsessed with Trump’s connection to Russia that he threatened university professors, allegedly threatening to withhold federal research grants for their research unless they “validated” Trump’s connection to a bank in Russia.
In 2022, he allegedly concealed intelligence about the failed withdrawal from Afghanistan by the Biden administration, hiding from congressional investigators what really happened.
During a recent town hall event, Elon Musk implied that DOGE had found evidence that Schiff had been self-dealing from the USAID fund.
