Those famous lines were uttered by a kid about Shoeless Joe Jackson after the Black Sox Scandal, but that could very easily be said of the Trump's family latest sandal, no not the war, not the Epstein Files but rather it is insider trading!
Now with Trump is anyone surprised that insider trading has become out in the open! (Note: when they say betting, they mean selling short or long depending on how you think the market will move. so if they are selling short (thinking that the price will drop) or going long (thinking that the price it will rise)),
April 20, 2026
Throughout US President Donald Trump's second term in office, traders have been betting millions of dollars just before he makes major announcements.
The BBC has examined trade volume data on several financial markets and matched them to some of the president's most significant market-moving statements.
It found a consistent pattern of spikes just hours, or sometimes minutes, before a social media post or media interview was made public.
Some analysts say it bears the hallmarks of illegal insider trading, whereby bets are made by people based on information that is not available to the general public.
Others say the picture is more complicated and that some traders have become more adept at anticipating the president's interventions.
This is the perfect war for insider trading! With the on again/off again opening of the Strait of Hormuz the commodities markets bouncing up and down with each iteration of the strait.
Nine days into the US-Israel war with Iran, Trump told CBS News in a phone interview that the conflict was "very complete, pretty much".
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These photos are from newspapers from the 1890s,
the era of the Robber Barrons |
18:29 GMT: Oil bets surge
19:16 GMT: Trump says war is nearly complete
19:17 GMT: Oil drops by 25%
The first time the public would have known about the interview was at 15:16 Eastern Time (19:16 GMT) when the reporter posted about it on X.
Oil traders reacted to this news that the conflict could end much sooner than expected by selling oil, with the price plunging by around 25%.
However, market data shows a huge surge of bets were placed on the price of oil falling at 18:29 GMT - a full 47 minutes before the reporter's post.
The traders who placed those bets will have made millions of dollars from the movement in oil prices.
But remember, Trump stripped the agency in charge of policing Commodity market. He replace the chair with Michael Selig and many of the positions remain open on the Board.
Summary
- Lawmakers raise concerns over potential insider trading
- Senator Warren urges deeper probe of administration officials
- CME Group says it monitors trading and urges scrutiny
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission is examining a series of trades in oil futures placed shortly before major shifts in President Donald Trump's Iran war policy, a person familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.
CFTC Chairman Michael Selig said in remarks prepared for delivery to Congress on Thursday that the agency will go after wrongdoers, but nothing in the testimony addressed any specific investigation and an agency spokesperson declined to comment.
The CFTC probe is focused on trading of oil futures contracts on platforms belonging to CME Group (CME.O), opens new tab and Intercontinental Exchange (ICE.N), opens new tab, with investigators examining at least two instances of oil trades made on March 23 and April 7, the source said.
Well‑timed trades may have generated millions of dollars in profits, drawing concern from lawmakers and legal experts that decisions around war and diplomacy can create opportunities for abuse in volatile and opaque derivatives markets.
It is not just these trades that have raised eyebrows but also Congress.
The Christian Science Monitor
By Linda Feldmann
April 01, 2026
Reports of big payouts from market trades that appeared to foresee major actions by the Trump administration – potentially with insider information – are becoming increasingly common.
Last week, the oil futures market saw a spike in trades about 15 minutes before President Donald Trump announced a pause in plans to attack Iranian power plants. The unidentified trader or traders had placed more than $500 million in trades, according to calculations by the Financial Times.
Similarly, the prediction market Polymarket saw a sharp increase in bets that proved lucrative right before the United States went to war against Iran and, earlier, invaded Venezuela.
[...]
“This is just astounding corruption,” Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut said in a social media video. “There are a bunch of millionaires and billionaires in this country who are making money off of their inside information, their access to what President Trump is going to do or what he is going to say.”
The White House denies any wrongdoing by administration officials.
[...]
Suspicions of impropriety have sparked a wave of legislation, some of it bipartisan, in both houses of Congress. Senator Murphy, along with Rep. Greg Casar of Texas, another Democrat, has introduced a bill aimed at banning prediction markets from “wagering on government actions, terrorism, war, assassination, and events where an individual knows or controls the outcome.”
There are investigations being opened in Congress...
In Letter, Raskin Warns Kushner’s Dual Role as U.S. Negotiator in the Middle East and Financier Funded by Middle Eastern Governments Poses Grave National Security Risks and Likely Violates Federal Law
Washington, D.C. (April 17, 2026)—Rep. Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, opened a sweeping investigation into Jared Kushner’s financial conflicts of interest, demanding documents and communications related to his foreign-funded private investment firm and his simultaneous government service as the so-called “Special Envoy for Peace.” The inquiry comes amid mounting reports that Mr. Kushner is wielding diplomatic powers in the Middle East while fundraising billions of dollars in capital from foreign powers, whose interests diverge sharply from those of the American people.
“From the standpoint of the American people, your decision to act in these two roles—one public for the government and one private for personal profit—creates a glaring and incurable conflict of interest. Your clients Saudi Arabia and the Royal Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman have unique and significant strategic, economic and political interests that are certain to diverge sharply from the strategic, economic and political interests of the American people,” wrote Ranking Member Raskin.
Mr. Kushner’s investment firm, Affinity Partners, has amassed approximately $6.16 billion in assets under management—including $1.2 billion in the past year alone—with an extraordinary 99 percent of its funding derived from foreign nationals. These include sovereign wealth funds operated by the governments of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar. At the same time, Mr. Kushner has assumed a central role in sensitive geopolitical negotiations across the Middle East and beyond.
With Trump we have the best government money can buy! Will the Trump administration end up rivaling "Boss Tweed and Tammany Hall" or the "Teapot Dome Scandal"? Trump likes to keep it in the family, so to him the family that steals together, stays together in prison!
So tune in next week when Diana’s Little Corner in the Nutmeg State brings you another exciting episode in the adventures of the wheelings and dealings Trump family!
